Pictures compliments of www.ultimatehorsesite.comCopyright (c) 2010 All rights Reserved S.H.O.W., Inc.PO Box 167, 1021 Colloredo Blvd, Shelbyville, TN 37162Site by Software AssociatesRelease Date: October 28, 2010The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is hosting a stakeholder call today at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the USDA Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) audit report issued today regarding APHIS’ Horse Protection Program and its Slaughter Horse Transport Program.APHIS welcomes OIG’s findings and is committed to the continued improvement of the Horse Protection Program and the Slaughter Horse Transport Program. Dr. Chester Gipson, APHIS Deputy Administrator for Animal Care, and Dr. Lisa Ferguson with APHIS Veterinary Services, will lead today’s call and provide information regarding the OIG’s recommendations and the actions the Agency is taking in response.APHIS is taking a number of actions to meet the needs identified in OIG’s audit. Examples of changes to APHIS’ Horse Protection activities include:•Revising the regulations to require Designated Qualified Persons to be licensed with APHIS and independent from horse show industry•Requesting from Congress nearly double the amount of funding to enforce the Horse Protection Act (HPA)•Pursuing the authority for APHIS to directly discipline Designated Qualified Persons•Ensuring that horse show management actively identify people on suspension because of previous HPA violations and prohibit their participation in show eventsWhile there are currently no horse slaughter facilities in the United States, APHIS regulates the transport of horses to slaughter houses in Canada and Mexico to ensure that the horses are treated humanely during domestic transportation. In response to the OIG recommendations related to the Horse Slaughter Transport Program, APHIS will:•Evaluate establishing an Agency-wide policy that will deny to those persons who have outstanding civil penalties for APHIS violations—including those under the Slaughter Horse Transport Program—certain services typically provided by the Agency, such as the endorsement of shipping documents•Evaluate many options for better regulation of backtag application and identification trackingAPHIS is also in the process of publishing a final rule based on the proposal to expand the scope of the Slaughter Horse Transport Program.The call-in number for today’s call is 1-888-889-3272 and the participant code is: “Horse Protection Act”. We apologize for the lack of advance notice, but given the timing of the report, we were unable to provide additional notice. APHIS has many stakeholders who are interested in this issue, and the purpose of today’s call is to provide timely information. We hope you can join us.To view the audit in its entirety, as well as the Agency’s responses to OIG’s recommendations, please go to: http://www.usda.gov/oig/webdocs/33601-02-KC.pdf
Pictures compliments of www.ultimatehorsesite.com
Copyright (c) 2010 All rights Reserved S.H.O.W., Inc.
PO Box 167, 1021 Colloredo Blvd, Shelbyville, TN 37162
Site by Software Associates
Release Date: October 28, 2010
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) is hosting a stakeholder call today at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time to
discuss the USDA Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) audit report issued today
regarding APHIS’ Horse Protection Program and its Slaughter Horse Transport
Program.
APHIS welcomes OIG’s findings and is committed to the continued improvement of the
Horse Protection Program and the Slaughter Horse Transport Program. Dr. Chester
Gipson, APHIS Deputy Administrator for Animal Care, and Dr. Lisa Ferguson with
APHIS Veterinary Services, will lead today’s call and provide information regarding the
OIG’s recommendations and the actions the Agency is taking in response.
APHIS is taking a number of actions to meet the needs identified in OIG’s audit.
Examples of changes to APHIS’ Horse Protection activities include:
•
Revising the regulations to require Designated Qualified Persons to be licensed
with APHIS and independent from horse show industry
•
Requesting from Congress nearly double the amount of funding to enforce the
Horse Protection Act (HPA)
•
Pursuing the authority for APHIS to directly discipline Designated Qualified
Persons
•
Ensuring that horse show management actively identify people on suspension
because of previous HPA violations and prohibit their participation in show events
While there are currently no horse slaughter facilities in the United States, APHIS
regulates the transport of horses to slaughter houses in Canada and Mexico to ensure
that the horses are treated humanely during domestic transportation. In response to
the OIG recommendations related to the Horse Slaughter Transport Program, APHIS
will:
•
Evaluate establishing an Agency-wide policy that will deny to those persons who
have outstanding civil penalties for APHIS violations—including those under the
Slaughter Horse Transport Program—certain services typically provided by the
Agency, such as the endorsement of shipping documents
•
Evaluate many options for better regulation of backtag application and
identification tracking
APHIS is also in the process of publishing a final rule based on the proposal to expand
the scope of the Slaughter Horse Transport Program.
The call-in number for today’s call is 1-888-889-3272 and the participant code is:
“Horse Protection Act”. We apologize for the lack of advance notice, but given the
timing of the report, we were unable to provide additional notice. APHIS has many
stakeholders who are interested in this issue, and the purpose of today’s call is to
provide timely information. We hope you can join us.
To view the audit in its entirety, as well as the Agency’s responses to OIG’s
recommendations, please go to: http://www.usda.gov/oig/webdocs/33601-02-KC.pdf
