[Federal Register: July 8, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 130)]
[Notices]               
[Page 41226-41227]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08jy04-28]                         

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Notices
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
appearing in this section.

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[[Page 41226]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 04-055-1]

 
Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information 
Collection

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Extension of approval of an information collection; comment 
request.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's 
intention to request an extension of approval of an information 
collection in support of provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 
regulations related to the humane transportation of animals in 
commerce.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
September 7, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies 
of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. 04-055-1, 
Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700 
River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your 
comment refers to Docket No. 04-055-1.
     E-mail: Address your comment to 
regulations@aphis.usda.gov. Your comment must be contained in the body 

of your message; do not send attached files. Please include your name 
and address in your message and ``Docket No. 04-055-1'' on the subject 
line.
     Agency Web Site: Go to http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/cominst.html
 for a form you can use to submit an e-mail comment through 

the APHIS Web site.
    Reading Room. You may read any comments that we receive on this 
docket in our reading room. The reading room is located in room 1141 of 
the USDA South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to 
help you, please call (202) 690-2817 before coming.
    Other Information: You may view APHIS documents published in the 
Federal Register and related information, including the names of groups 
and individuals who have commented on APHIS dockets, on the Internet at 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the Animal Welfare 
Act regulations for the humane transportation of animals in commerce by 
foreign air carriers, contact Dr. Jerry DePoyster, Senior Veterinary 
Medical Officer, Animal Care, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 84, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1234; (301) 734-7586. For copies of more detailed 
information on the information collection, contact Mrs. Celeste 
Sickles, APHIS' Information Collection Coordinator, at (301) 734-7477.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Transportation of Animals on Foreign Air Carriers.
    OMB Number: 0579-0247.
    Type of Request: Extension of approval of an information 
collection.
    Abstract: The regulations contained in 9 CFR chapter I, subchapter 
A, part 3, provide standards for the humane handling, care, treatment, 
and transportation, by regulated entities, of animals covered by the 
Animal Welfare Act (AWA, 7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.). The regulations in 
part 3 are divided into six subparts, each of which contains facility 
and operating standards, animal health and husbandry standards, and 
transportation standards for a specific category of animals and consist 
of the following: Subpart A--dogs and cats; subpart B--guinea pigs and 
hamsters; subpart C--rabbits; subpart D--nonhuman primates; subpart E--
marine mammals; and subpart F--warmblooded animals other than dogs, 
cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, nonhuman primates, and marine 
mammals. Transportation standards for dogs and cats are contained in 
Sec. Sec.  3.13 through 3.19; for guinea pigs and hamsters, in 
Sec. Sec.  3.35 through 3.41; for rabbits, in Sec. Sec.  3.60 through 
3.66; for nonhuman primates, in Sec. Sec.  3.86 through 3.92; for 
marine mammals, in Sec. Sec.  3.112 through 3.118; and for all other 
warmblooded animals, in Sec. Sec.  3.136 through 3.142.
    Foreign air carriers, as well as domestic carriers, transporting 
animals covered under the AWA to or from any point within the United 
States, its territories, possessions, or the District of Columbia must 
comply with the transportation standards and are required to register 
as a carrier with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and 
keep and maintain records pertaining to animal transport. These records 
may include a copy of the consignor's written guarantee of payment for 
transportation for C.O.D. shipments, a shipping document, an animal 
health certificate executed and issued by a licensed veterinarian, and, 
if needed, an acclimation statement indicating that the animal being 
transported can withstand temperatures colder or warmer than the 
minimums or maximums specified in the regulations. In addition, 
depending on the species, the standards may require that instructions 
for the administration of drugs, medication, other special care, food, 
and water, as well as other shipping documents, be attached to the 
outside of the animal's primary enclosure.
    We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve 
our use of these information collection activities for foreign air 
carriers for an additional 3 years.
    The purpose of this notice is to solicit comments from the public 
(as well as affected agencies) concerning our information collection. 
These comments will help us:
    (1) Evaluate whether the collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the burden of the 
information collection, including the validity of the methodology and 
assumptions used;
    (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    (4) Minimize the burden of the information collection on those who 
are to respond, through use, as appropriate,

[[Page 41227]]

of automated, electronic, mechanical, and other collection 
technologies, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.
    Estimate of burden: The public reporting burden for this collection 
of information is estimated to average 0.162037 hours per response.
    Respondents: Foreign air carriers transporting animals covered 
under the Animal Welfare Act.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 20.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 54.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 1,080.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 175 hours. (Due to 
averaging, the total annual burden hours may not equal the product of 
the annual number of responses multiplied by the reporting burden per 
response.)
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for OMB approval. All comments will also become a matter of 
public record.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of July 2004.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 04-15493 Filed 7-7-04; 8:45 am]

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