The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) based in Riverdale, Maryland responsible for protecting animal health, animal welfare, and plant health. APHIS is the lead agency for collaboration with other agencies to protect U.S. agriculture from invasive pests and diseases. APHIS's PPQ is the National Plant Protection Organization for the U.S.,[8] and the agency's head of veterinary services/veterinary Deputy Administrator is the Chief Veterinary Officer of the United States.[5]
APHIS was created in 1972 by Secretary's Memorandum No. 1769.[1]
The origins of the agency predate creation of USDA, to 1854 when the Office of Entomologist, Agricultural Section, U.S. Patent Office was created. It was the first of three agencies that eventually were merged to form APHIS.[2] In 1881, a Cattle Commission was created in the Department of the Treasury that three years later was transferred to USDA.[2] Plant quarantine functions followed in 1912 when USDA's Federal Horticultural Board was created. Between the 1880s and 1930s, these evolved into the USDA Bureaus of Entomology, of Animal Industry, and of Plant Quarantine, respectively.[2]
In 1953, those three bureaus were made into the new Agricultural Research Service.[1] In 1971, the animal and plant regulatory functions were separated from ARS to create a new entity known as Animal and Plant Health Services. In 1972, the meat and poultry inspection divisions of the Consumer and Marketing Service (later known as the Agricultural Marketing Service) were added to APHS, thus creating the contemporary APHIS.[9][1]
APHIS is the primary agency responsible for responding to animal and plant disease(s) and pest emergencies as well as to other emergencies as set forth by the National Response Plan (NRP) completed in 2005 (APHIS Strategic Plan 2003–2008).[citation needed]
APHIS celebrated its 50th anniversary on April 2, 2022.[11]
Duties and responsibilities
APHIS agent assesses the airfield for birds at Bagram Airfield, AfghanistanWildlife Services (WS) field specialist sets a fox trap at the Barrow Steller's Eider Conservation Area in Alaska
The originally-stated purpose of APHIS is to “protect the animal and plant resources of the nation” and carry out “a poultry and meat inspection program.”[12] A more modern articulation of APHIS's mission is “protecting and promoting U.S. agricultural health, regulating genetically engineered organisms, administering the Animal Welfare Act and carrying out wildlife damage management activities.”[13]
APHIS aims to protect American animals, plants, and the agricultural industry by offering:[citation needed]
Protection from invasive non-native plants, animals, insects, and diseases
Monitoring and management of existing agricultural pests and diseases
Resolution and management of trade issues related to animal or plant health
Prevention or cessation of the inhumane treatment (of animals)
The threats and challenges within APHIS' scope include:[citation needed]
APHIS is granted specific authority under several federal statutes:
Animal Health Protection Act, 7U.S.C.§8301et seq. Governs the prevention, detection, control, and eradication of diseases and pests of animals, where "animal" is defined as "any member of the animal kingdom (except a human)." 7U.S.C.§8302 (1) (West 2009).
Animal Welfare Act of 1966, 7U.S.C.§2131et seq. Originally intended to prevent the theft of pets for sale to research facilities, the AWA now broadly regulates minimum standards of care and treatment of animals in research, exhibition, transport, and by dealers. It exempts birds, rats, or mice bred for use in research, horses not used for research, cold blooded animals, and all farm animals used in the production of “food and fiber.” It provides for licensing and registration of all animal dealers and exhibitors.
Horse Protection Act, 15U.S.C.§§1821–1831 Prohibits horses subjected to a process called “soring” (injecting or applying chemicals to a horse's forelegs to accentuate its gait) from participating in and being transported to exhibitions, sales, shows, or auctions.
Animal Damage Control Act of March 2, 1931, 7U.S.C.§§426–426c Provides broad authority for investigation, demonstrations and control of “injurious animal species” (mammalian predators, rodents and birds.) Amended in 1991 to prevent the inadvertent introduction of brown tree snakes into other areas of the United States from Guam.
Lacey Act, 16U.S.C.§§3371–3378 Makes it unlawful for any person to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase any fish or wildlife or plant taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law, treaty, or regulation of the United States or in violation of any Indian tribal law whether in interstate or foreign commerce.
Plant Protection Act, 7U.S.C.§7701et seq. Consolidates all or part of ten existing USDA plant health laws into one comprehensive law. Gives USDA the authority to regulate and to prohibit or restrict the importation, exportation, and the interstate movement of plants, plant products, certain biological control organisms, noxious weeds, and plant pests.
Federal Seed Act, Title III, 7U.S.C.§§1551–1611 Requires accurate labeling and purity standards for seeds in commerce, and prohibits the importation and movement of adulterated or misbranded seeds.
Honeybee Act, 7U.S.C.§§281–286 Prohibits or restricts the importation or entry of honeybees and honeybee semen into or through the United States in order to prevent the introduction and spread of diseases and parasites harmful to honeybees, as well as genetically undesirable germ plasm and undesirable bee species.
Animal quarantine laws:21U.S.C.§101 allows the President, by proclamation, to suspend the importation of all or any class of animals for a limited time, whenever, in his opinion, it is necessary for the protection of animals in the United States against infectious or contagious diseases.
21U.S.C.§113a authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to establish research facilities for hoof and mouth disease and other animal diseases which “in the opinion of the Secretary” constitute a threat to U.S. livestock. Mandates strict controls for the use of any live virus at such research facilities. Permits the Secretary to hire up to five technical experts or scientists at a maximum paygrade of GS-18. (This appears to be one of the most prescriptive statutes that USDA administers.)
21U.S.C.§114i authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to establish and carry out a program for the eradication of pseudorabies in United States swine populations.
APHIS is divided into six operational programs units:[citation needed]
Animal Care (AC): Determines and promotes standards of humane care and treatment of animals through inspections and educational efforts.
Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS): Protects agricultural and natural resources by ensuring safe development of genetically engineered organisms using a science-based regulatory framework.
International Services and Trade Support Team (IS): Provides international animal and plant health expertise to safeguard American agricultural health and promote U.S. agricultural trade.
Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ): Safeguards agriculture and natural resources from risks associated with the entry, establishment, or spread of pests and noxious weeds.
Veterinary Services (VS): Protects and improves the health, quality, and marketability of our nation's animals, animal products, and veterinary biologics by preventing, controlling, and/or eliminating animal diseases, and monitoring, and promoting animal health and productivity.
Wildlife Services (WS): Provides leadership to resolve wildlife conflicts and create a balance allowing people and wildlife to peacefully coexist.
APHIS is also divided into three management support units (Legislative and Public Affairs, Marketing and Regulatory Programs Business Services, and Policy and Program Development), and two offices that support government-wide initiatives: the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security and Office of Civil Rights Enforcement and Compliance.[9]
The current APHIS Administrator, Kevin Shea, was appointed in June 2013.[14] His immediate predecessor, Dr. Greg Parham, was appointed in April 2011.
The Deputy Administrator for Veterinary Services also functions as Chief Veterinary Officer of the United States, and represents the U.S. Government at the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) is the National Plant Protection Organization; the Deputy Administrator for PPQ represents the United States in the North American Plant Protection Organization and other international fora related to plant health and quarantine.
In addition to its domestic operations, APHIS International Services staff several overseas offices, including veterinary and plant health attachés in U.S. diplomatic missions as well as technicians carrying out disease and pest eradication and control programs.
As the name suggests, IES takes referrals from other APHIS personnel as to investigations and enforcements that are needed based on personnel's observations in the course of their duties.[6][7]
Budget
APHIS has a budget of approximately $800 million annually and employs about 7,000 people, about 5,000 of which are deployed as inspectors at ports, borders and on farms.[citation needed]
Criticism
In 2005, the USDA OIG published a report which identified numerous failures on the part of APHIS’ Animal Care (AC) unit to adequately enforce the AWA, including:[citation needed]
failure of AC's Eastern Region to aggressively pursue “enforcement actions against violators of the AWA”;
failure to fine violators sufficiently, creating a climate in which “violators consider the monetary stipulation as a normal cost of conducting business rather than a deterrent for violating the law”;
failure on the part of the USDA's Veterinary Medical Officers (VMOs) to ensure that research facilities provided them with basic data on themselves such as “the number of animals used in research” and the number of “unexpected animal deaths”;
failure on the part of Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUC) to effectively monitor animal care activities, in particular, veterinary care and review of painful procedures; and
failure on the part of Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUC) to ensure the use of non-animal methodologies where such research avenues exist.
The OIG audit further reported that at almost one-third of facilities, IACUCs failed to ensure that principal investigators (PIs) considered alternatives to painful procedures; the report cites this failure on the part of IACUCs as being the most frequent AWA violation at animal research facilities.[17]
In 2014, The USDA's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) criticized the Service for a number of issues including its failure to efficiently allocate resources and its failure to administer appropriate fines for animal welfare violations among other issues. The report found the Service conducted inspections at facilities that did not have any animals regulated under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). According to the report, “[Animal Care] did not make the best use of its limited resources, which could have been assigned to inspect other more problematic facilities, including breeders, dealers, and exhibitors.” The Service was also criticized for prematurely closing cases that involved “grave (e.g., animal deaths) or repeat welfare violations.” When the service did levy fines against institutions for AWA violations, the Inspector General's report found “penalties that were reduced by an average of 86 percent from... authorized maximum penalty per violation. Consequently, 26 of the 30 violators in our sample received” and that the Service “grant[ed] good faith reductions without merit or us[ed] a smaller number of violations than the actual number.” According to the USDA's report, APHIS agreed with the findings and will begin implanting reforms.[18]
On 4 February 2017, the USDA Animal Care Search Tool, a searchable database containing documents with details about the animals held by individual US animal research facility together with inspection and action reports, was removed from public access, with a stated reason of protecting personal information. The removal affects inspection reports, research facility annual reports, regulatory correspondence (such as official warnings), and certain enforcement records. Information from these documents can now only be requested via a Freedom of Information Act inquiry.[19] This removal has been criticized as substantially limiting information on animal care in US institutions, and of inhibiting access to what is still available.[20]
Although capable of living indoors with humans similarly to cats or dogs, pet skunks are somewhat of a novelty, and still relatively rare, mostly due to restrictive local and regional laws and the complexity of their diet, habits and care. The highest concentrations of pet skunks are mainly kept in Canada, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and the United States.
The Animal Welfare Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 24, 1966. It is the main federal law in the United States that regulates the treatment of animals in research and exhibition. Other laws, policies, and guidelines may include additional species coverage or specifications for animal care and use, but all refer to the Animal Welfare Act as the minimally acceptable standard for animal treatment and care. The USDA and APHIS oversee the AWA and the House and Senate Agriculture Committees have primary legislative jurisdiction over the Act. Animals covered under this Act include any live or dead cat, dog, hamster, rabbit, nonhuman primate, guinea pig, and any other warm-blooded animal determined by the Secretary of Agriculture for research, pet use or exhibition. Excluded from the Act are birds, rats of the genus Rattus, mice of the genus Mus, farm animals, and all cold-blooded animals.
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs) are centrally important in applying laws about animal research in the United States. Similar systems operate in other countries, but generally under different titles; for example, in Canada a typical title would be the University Animal Care Committee (UACC), while in the United Kingdom it would be the Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB).
The khapra beetle, also called cabinet beetle, which originated in South Asia, is one of the world's most destructive pests of grain products and seeds. It is considered one of the 100 worst invasive species in the world. Infestations are difficult to control because of the insect's ability to survive without food for long periods, its preference for dry conditions and low-moisture food, and its resistance to many insecticides. There is a federal quarantine restricting the importation of rice into the U.S. from countries with known infestations of the beetle. Khapra beetle infestation can spoil otherwise valuable trade goods and threaten significant economic losses if introduced to a new area. Handling or consuming contaminated grain and seed products can lead to health issues such as skin irritation and gastrointestinal distress.
The Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance Program is a component of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ). The mission of the Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance Program is to detect and prevent the unlawful entry and distribution of prohibited and/or non-compliant products that may harbor exotic plant and animal pests, diseases or invasive species.
Animal testing regulations are guidelines that permit and control the use of non-human animals for scientific experimentation. They vary greatly around the world, but most governments aim to control the number of times individual animals may be used; the overall numbers used; and the degree of pain that may be inflicted without anesthetic.
President Chester A. Arthur signed the Animal Industry Act on May 29, 1884 creating the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), an organization that was established under the United States Department of Agriculture. It replaced the Veterinary Division that had been created by the Commissioner of Agriculture in 1883, which had taken over for the Treasury Cattle Commission, Department of Treasury.
The Virus-Serum-Toxin Act or VSTA was United States federal legislation designed to protect farmers and livestock raisers by regulating the quality of vaccines and point-of-care diagnostics for animals. Initially, the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act was created due to significant losses from unregulated manufacture and distribution of anti-hog cholera serum. The Act's intended purpose is to ensure the safe and efficient supply of animal vaccines and other biological products. The United States Secretary of Agriculture is responsible for licensing and regulating the manufacture, importation, and exportation of affected agents. The act and its applicable guidelines are managed by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Wildlife Services is the program intended to provide Federal resources to resolve wildlife interactions that threaten public health and safety, as well as agricultural, property, and natural resources. The program is part of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
The Plant Quarantine Act, originally enacted in 1912, gave the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) authority to regulate the importation and interstate movement of nursery stock and other plants that may carry pests and diseases that are harmful to agriculture. This Act has been superseded by the consolidated APHIS statute, the Plant Protection Act of 2000. This authority is particularly important to the agency’s ability to prevent or limit the spread of harmful invasive species within or to a state or region of the United States.
The Plant Protection Act (PPA) is a US statute relating to plant pests and noxious weeds introduced in 2000. It is currently codified at 7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq. It consolidates related responsibilities that were previously spread over various legislative statutes, including the Plant Quarantine Act, the Federal Plant Pest Act and the Federal Noxious Weed Act of 1974.
The Horse Protection Act of 1970 (HPA); is a United States federal law, under which the practice of soring is a crime punishable by both civil and criminal penalties, including fines and jail time. It is illegal to show a horse, enter it at a horse show, or to auction, sell, offer for sale, or transport a horse for any of these purposes if it has been sored.
The Federal Plant Pest Act of 1957 prohibited the movement of pests from a foreign country into or through the United States unless authorized by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) are responsible for safeguarding agriculture and natural resources from the risks associated with the entry, establishment, or spread of animal and plant pests and noxious weeds.
Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) is one of six operational program units within the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The PPQ works to safeguard agriculture and natural resources in the U.S. against the entry, establishment, and spread of animal and plant pests, and noxious weeds in order to help ensure the protection of native flora and an abundant, high-quality, and varied food supply.
Phytosanitary certification verifies phytosanitary worthiness. These certificates are used to attest that consignments meet phytosanitary import requirements and are undertaken by a National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO). Under the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and ISPM, a certificate for export or for re-export can be issued only by a public officer who is technically qualified and duly authorized by an NPPO.
The National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) provides laboratory services for the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). It operates from Ames, Iowa and Plum Island Animal Disease Center at Plum Island (New York). The NVSL provides a wide variety of information and services, centered on diagnosis of domestic and foreign animal diseases, support of disease control and eradication programs, reagents for diagnostic testing, training, and laboratory certification.
Animal welfare in the United States relates to the treatment of non-human animals in fields such as agriculture, hunting, medical testing and the domestic ownership of animals. It is distinct from animal conservation.
In December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a Resolution declaring 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH). The purpose of the IYPH was to raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment, and boost economic development.
Kevin Shea is an American administrator who served as the acting United States secretary of agriculture from January to February 2021. A career civil servant, he has served as the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), a division of the United States Department of Agriculture, since June 18, 2013.
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