Licensing is required for:
- Zoos (except those operated by the federal government)
- Exhibits, shows, and acts that feature captive marine mammals (dolphins, porpoises, whales, polar bears, sea otters, seals, walruses, and other mammals with fins or flippers)
- Tourist attractions exhibiting animals, such as roadside zoos
- Carnivals and circuses
- Promotional exhibits in which regulated animals are used to promote or advertise goods and services
- Owners that exhibit animals doing tricks or otherwise performing for a live audience or on tape
Exemptions from the license requirement are granted for pet and horse shows, rodeos, hunting events, exhibits of farm animals at agricultural events, private collectors who do not publicly show or sell animals, enterprises that keep animals in a wild state (such as game and hunting preserves), and exhibits that feature animals not covered by the AWA—mainly birds, reptiles, and fish.
Under the AWA, licensed exhibitors must provide "adequate care and treatment in the areas of housing, handling, transportation, sanitation, nutrition, water, general husbandry, veterinary care, and protection from extreme weather and temperatures." The exhibitors are required to keep records detailing the veterinary care that the animals receive. As shown in Table 7.1, there were 2,533 licensed exhibitors and sixteen registered exhibitors operating as of July 2004. The state of Florida has the most licensed animal acts (262), followed by California (258), Texas (192), Illinois (136), and Pennsylvania (117).
Regulations are also designed to ensure public safety. Dangerous animals can be publicly exhibited only under the direct control of an experienced trainer. There are time limits for exhibits, and the animals have to be fed and watered and handled in a humane manner that prevents unnecessary stress or discomfort. Physical abuse and withholding food are not permissible training methods. Traveling exhibits have to submit their performance schedules to APHIS before each tour. Exhibitors that violate standards are subject to warnings and civil actions such as license suspensions or fines.
Criticisms of the AWA and APHIS
The AWA regulations are criticized by animal welfarists as being minimal standards that provide little protection and are poorly enforced. Penalties for violating the AWA are civil, not criminal. In fiscal year 2002 the animal care unit of APHIS employed fewer than 100 inspectors, who were responsible for inspecting thousands of facilities all over the country. The USDA reports that it conducted 2,850 inspections of animal exhibits in 2002.
Entertainment animals are often protected by state and local anticruelty laws, but the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) claims that some states exempt USDA-licensed animal acts (particularly circuses) from meeting anticruelty standards. Animal rights groups also say that the USDA refuses to allow its inspectors to testify in criminal cruelty cases. Some local governments forbid or tightly regulate animal acts. Table 7.2 lists U.S. and foreign cities that have banned animal acts as of August 2004.
The HSUS advocates one of two legislative approaches at the local level:
- A ban on any mental and physical harassment of wild animals for the purpose of entertainment and a ban on their use in unnatural behaviors (such as jumping through hoops, wrestling with people, etc.)
TABLE 7.1
Number of USDA-licensed and registered animal exhibits, by state, 2004
SOURCE: Adapted from Facility Lists: Exhibits: Licensed and Registered, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, July 2004, http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/lists/listc.pdf and http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/lists/liste.pdf (accessed March 17, 2005) Licensed exhibits Registered exhibits State Number % of total Number % of total Alaska 10 0.4% 0 0% Alabama 37 1% 0 0% Arkansas 24 0.9% 0 0% Arizona 25 1.0% 0 0% California 258 10.2% 0 0% Colorado 31 1.2% 0 0% Connecticut 45 1.8% 0 0% District of Columbia 0 0% 0 0% Delaware 3 0.1% 0 0% Florida 262 10.3% 1 6.3% Georgia 71 2.8% 2 12.5% Hawaii 15 0.6% 0 0% Iowa 43 1.7% 0 0% Idaho 18 0.7% 0 0% Illinois 136 5.4% 0 0% Indiana 65 2.6% 0 0% Kansas 26 1.0% 0 0% Kentucky 19 0.8% 1 6.3% Louisiana 24 0.9% 0 0% Massachusetts 45 1.8% 0 0% Maryland 37 1.5% 0 0% Maine 6 0.2% 0 0% Michigan 111 4.4% 4 25.0% Minnesota 59 2.3% 0 0% Missouri 69 2.7% 0 0% Mississippi 12 0.5% 2 12.5% Montana 21 0.8% 0 0% North Carolina 61 2.4% 0 0% North Dakota 14 0.6% 0 0% Nebraska 14 0.6% 0 0% New Hampshire 17 0.7% 0 0% New Jersey 45 1.8% 0 0% New Mexico 15 1% 0 0% Nevada 41 1.6% 0 0% New York 109 4.3% 0 0% Ohio 69 2.7% 4 25.0% Oklahoma 27 1.1% 0 0% Oregon 42 1.7% 0 0% Pennsylvania 117 4.6% 0 0% Rhode Island 8 0.3% 0 0% South Carolina 28 1.1% 0 0% South Dakota 18 0.7% 0 0% Tennessee 32 1.3% 0 0% Texas 192 7.6% 0 0% Utah 11 0.4% 0 0% Virginia 58 2.3% 1 6.3% Vermont 3 0.1% 0 0% Washington 34 1.3% 0 0% Wisconsin 86 3.4% 1 6.3% West Virginia 11 0.4% 0 0% Wyoming 1 0.04% 0 0% 2,533 16 - A ban on the use of all wild animals for entertainment unless regulations are in place to ensure their safety and that of the public
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