USDA Final Tethering Rule

Mush with P.R.I.D.E. feels that people should have access to the US Department of Agriculture's Final Rule on tethering in its original language. After protests by several groups, including Mush with P.R.I.D.E., USDA issued a clarification which is also included in these pages. The clarification carries as much legal weight as the Final Rule.

START FINAL RULE

[Federal Register: August 13, 1997 (Volume 62, Number 156)]
[Rules and Regulations] [Page 43272-43275]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13au97-3]

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Parts 1 and 3

[Docket No. 95-078-2]
RIN 0579-AA74

Humane Treatment of Dogs; Tethering

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: We are amending the regulations for the humane treatment of dogs under the Animal Welfare Act by removing the provisions for tethering dogs as a means of primary enclosure. Our experience in enforcing the Animal Welfare Act has led us to conclude that permanently tethering a dog as a means of primary enclosure is not a humane practice that is in the animal's best interests. Temporarily tethering a dog due to health or other reasons would be permitted if the licensee obtains the approval of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. This action will help ensure that dogs in
facilities regulated under the Animal Welfare Act will be treated in a manner that is consistent with the animals' best interests.

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 12, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Stephen Smith, Staff Animal Health Technician, Animal Care, APHIS, suite 6D02, 4700 River Road Unit 84, Riverdale, MD 20737-1234, (301) 734-4972, or e-mail:
snsmith@aphis.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) (7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) the
Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to promulgate standards and other
requirements governing the humane handling, housing, care, treatment, and
transportation of certain animals by dealers, research facilities,
exhibitors, and carriers and intermediate handlers. Regulations established
under the Act are contained in 9 CFR parts 1, 2, and 3. Subpart A of 9 CFR
part 3 (referred to below as the regulations) contains requirements
concerning dogs and cats.

On July 2, 1996, we published in the Federal Register (61 FR 34386-
34389, Docket No. 95-078-1) a proposal to amend the regulations by removing the option for facilities to use tethering as a means of primary enclosure.I n the same document, we proposed to amend the regulations by revising the temperature requirements for indoor, sheltered, and mobile and traveling housing facilities, and for primary conveyances used in transportation, to require that the ambient temperature must never exceed 90 deg.F (32.2 deg.C) when dogs or cats are present.

We solicited comments concerning our proposal for 60 days ending
September 3, 1996. We received 54 comments by that date. Many of the
comments we received on the proposed rule expressed concerns with the
proposal to revise the temperature requirements. This final rule concerns
only the part of the proposal to remove tethering as a means of primary
enclosure. We are still reviewing the issues concerning the effects of
temperature on dogs and cats. If we take any further action regarding
temperature, we will publish the appropriate document in the Federal
Register.

Thirty-three of the comments received on the proposed rule addressed
the part of the proposal to remove tethering as a means of primary
enclosure. These comments were from dog breeders, humane organizations, a veterinarian, pet industry associations, an animal feed industry
association, pharmaceutical companies, a medical research association, a
Federal government agency, and other interested individuals. Nine of the
comments supported the proposal; 14 comments opposed the proposal; 1
comment did not oppose the proposal, but had recommendations concerning the proposal's Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis; and 9 comments
expressed neither support nor opposition, but stated that the provisions of
the proposal should be extended to apply to anyone who owns dogs, instead
of only to licensed breeders and dealers. The comments are discussed below
by topic.

Currently, the regulations provide that dogs in outside housing
facilities regulated under the AWA may be kept on tethers as a means of
primary enclosure. We proposed to remove this provision. Several commenters
who supported the proposed rule stated that, while they believe tethering
should not be used as a primary enclosure, there are situations when
tethering is useful for short intervals. For example, the commenter said an
owner may put a dog on a tether while cleaning its pen, to isolate the dog
for health reasons, or to restrain an aggressive dog. The commenters
recommended that we state explicitly in the regulations that tethering is
prohibited as a means of primary enclosure, and clarify in the regulations
when tethering would be permissible.

We agree that it would be more clear to specifically state in the
regulations that permanent tethering is prohibited as a means of primary
enclosure. Therefore, we are adding a new paragraph (c)(4) to Sec. 3.6 of
the regulations to state that tethers are prohibited for use as primary
enclosures. However, we realize that there may be times when it would be
appropriate, and in the dog's best interests, to put a dog on a tether
temporarily, ranging from a few minutes while the dog's pen is cleaned to
several days to isolate an animal for health reasons. If we stated in the
regulations when tethering would be permitted, we would invariably fail to
include some circumstance. Further, while tethering may be appropriate for
one dog under a specific circumstance, it may not be appropriate for
another dog under the same circumstance. Therefore, we are also adding a
provision in new paragraph (c)(4) to state that a licensee must obtain the
approval of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to
temporarily tether a dog at the licensee's facility. This safeguard will
give APHIS the opportunity to evaluate on a case-by-case basis the
appropriateness of temporarily tethering a dog in order to ensure that any
temporary tethering of a dog is in the animal's best interests.

A licensee may obtain verbal approval from an APHIS inspector to
temporarily tether a dog for a period of 3 days or less. If a licensee
intends to regularly tether a dog for periods of less than 3 days in order
to conduct a regular activity (for example, a licensee intends to tether a
dog every day for 20 minutes while the dog's primary enclosure is being
cleaned), the licensee will only have to obtain verbal approval for such
tethering one time. If a licensee intends to temporarily tether a dog for a
period to exceed 3 days, the licensee must obtain written approval from the
APHIS Animal Care Regional Office for the region in which the licensee
operates.

One commenter asked us to specify that, if an inspector finds a dog to
be temporarily tethered, the inspector should ask the licensee to show him
or her the dog's primary enclosure. The

[[Page 43273]]

purpose of this would be to verify that the tethering arrangement is not
permanent and that the dog has a primary enclosure. We are not making any
changes to the proposed rule in response to this comment. We assure the
commenter that, in conducting inspections of licensed facilities, each
inspector will verify that each animal's primary enclosure complies with
the regulations. If a dog is tethered at the time of an inspection, the
inspector will verify that the licensee has APHIS approval and that the dog
has a primary enclosure that is in compliance with the regulations.
Many commenters stated that they believe tethering is humane and should
be allowed as a means of primary enclosure. One commenter specified that if
the tether is equipped with a swivel on the end, it is safe and does not
encumber the movement of the dog. Other commenters said the proposal did
not present any scientific data to support the claim that tethering is
inhumane.

We are not making any changes to the proposal based on these comments.
As we stated in the proposed rule, we do not have any data on the frequency
of injuries due to tethers. However, our experience has led us to conclude
that permanently tethering dogs as a means of primary enclosure is not a
humane practice that is in the animals' best interests. Further, permanent
tethering is no longer a generally accepted practice within the dog dealer
industry, and some industry groups prohibit their members from using
tethering as a means of permanent restraint. A dog attached to a tether is
significantly restricted in its movement. A tether can also become tangled
around or hooked on the dog's shelter structure or other objects, further
restricting the dog's movement and potentially causing injury. We do not
believe that a flexible tether, a tether with a swivel on the end, or other
such devices would significantly improve the safety of a tether. Such
devices may improve the mobility of the dog, but the possibility would
still remain over time for the tether to become tangled around objects
within the dog's range.

We reiterate that we are prohibiting permanent tethering as a means of
primary enclosure. It is possible that most injuries from tethers are, in
part, due to a dog being unsupervised for long periods of time while on the
tether. Prohibiting the use of a permanent tether as a means of primary
enclosure for dogs will minimize the likelihood that a dog would be left
unsupervised for extended periods of time while on a tether, thus reducing
the likelihood of injury. We are not prohibiting the use of temporary
tethering for restraining a dog for short periods of time if the licensee
obtains the approval of APHIS.

One commenter said that our proposal would be in conflict with the
requirements of some cities that dogs be tethered. The commenter is correct
that many cities require dogs to be on a leash or tethered when they are
not enclosed by some other means. These laws are necessary so that the
public is protected from aggressive dogs and to prevent dogs from roaming
freely. However, we know of no city that requires dogs to be tethered as a
means of primary enclosure. Further, our rule prohibiting the use of a
permanent tether as primary enclosure would apply only to persons regulated
under the AWA (dog breeders, dealers, exhibitors, carriers, intermediate
handlers, and research facilities). Individual dog owners would not be
affected by this rule, and could continue to tether their dogs if they
believe it is appropriate, and if it is not restricted by local regulations. A facility regulated under the AWA would still be permitted to
temporarily tether dogs if the facility obtains the approval of APHIS.

Go to USDA Final Tethering Rule (Part 2)

Go to USDA Final Tethering Rule (Part 3-Clarification)