In the August 24, 2017, Federal Register, USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service ("APHIS") solicited public comments on potential revisions to the licensing requirements under the Animal Welfare Act ("AWA") regulations. These revisions are intended to promote compliance with the Act, reduce licensing fees, and further prevent any individual whose license has been suspended or revoked, or who has a history of noncompliance, from obtaining a license or working with regulated animals. APHIS is interested in knowing: (i) whether it should establish a firm expiration date for licenses (such as three to five years) and if so, what the date should be and why; (ii) what fees would be reasonable to assess for licenses issued, and whether the existing license fees are reasonable, or whether they should be adjusted to take additional factors into consideration, such as the type of animals used in regulated activities; (iii) whether persons whose license has been suspended or revoked from buying, selling, transporting, exhibiting, or delivering for transportation animals during the period of suspension or revocation should also be prohibited from engaging in other activities involving animals regulated under the AWA, such as working for other AWA-regulated entities or using other individual names or business entities to apply for a license; and (iv) whether there are any other specific concerns or recommendations for reducing regulatory burdens involving the licensing process or otherwise improving the licensing requirements under the AWA. Comments are due October 23, 2017.
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