Congressional Democrats and Republicans failed to reach agreement last night on continued funding of the federal government, and Washington this morning began the process of temporarily mothballing its programs and services. In a shutdown, “non-essential” federal workers are furloughed, while some “essential” operations continue. Several people have asked how a government shutdown affects animals, either by suspending critical animal welfare functions or providing a temporary reprieve from government killing programs. While some of the details are still emerging, here’s a brief rundown on how the agencies are handling the shutdown and some of the effects that we expect it could have on animals:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Under the Animal Welfare Act, USDA is charged with ensuring that minimum standards of care and treatment are provided by regulated entities (approximately 12,000 sites currently), including research facilities, commercial dog breeders and dealers, and exhibitors of exotic animals. Without federal government funding, USDA will not be able to inspect these facilities to ensure humane care or provide enforcement against violators, meaning puppy mills, research labs, roadside zoos, and the like could cut corners and operate recklessly while no one is watching.
The agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued a statement today indicating that “facility inspections and complaint investigations related to the Animal Welfare Act” would not continue during a funding lapse. Additionally, USDA’s website is dark due to the shutdown, which means the public no longer has access to the animal care database to review AWA inspection reports and violations. The agency’s consideration of important rulemaking provisions to strengthen the Animal Welfare Act, such as prohibiting the public contact with tigers and other dangerous wildlife, will grind to a halt.
APHIS also indicated it would no longer provide “assistance for the control of most plant and animal pests and diseases.” We assume that means some activities of the Wildlife Services program, which annually kills tens of thousands of predators on both public and private lands, could cease during the shutdown, providing some relief to wildlife typically targeted through aerial gunning, poisoning, and other inhumane methods. Predominantly coyotes are killed—regardless of whether they cause any harm to livestock or other property—but also wolves, bears, and mountain lions, as well as non-target victims including endangered species and family pets. Some Wildlife Services activities are not subject to congressional appropriations, because they are funded through reimbursable agreements with state or local governments or other third parties, so the trapping and lethal killing may continue.
Under the Horse Protection Act, USDA is mandated to ensure that Tennessee walking horses are not subjected to the abusive practice of soring—the intentional infliction of pain to a horse’s legs or hooves with chemicals or other substances in order to force an artificial, exaggerated gait. Without federal government funding, we expect that USDA oversight and inspection will not be provided at Tennessee walking horse shows, and USDA will not be able to impose penalties upon violators to prevent cruelty to these horses.
Slaughter plants cannot conduct slaughter operations without the presence of USDA inspectors overseeing that food safety and humane handling regulations are followed. USDA has indicated that front-line inspectors have been designated “essential” and will continue working. The Food Safety Inspection Service said it will “ensure adequate senior level management of and coordination of the agency’s public health responsibilities during a shutdown,” which is important for identifying and responding to serious humane handling violations, during which inspectors are supposed to notify upper-management, who make the decision to suspend slaughter plant operations. The shutdown, unfortunately, should mean regulatory staff are not available to finalize proposed rules to improve humane slaughter enforcement, such as closing the loophole on the slaughter of downed veal calves.
Department of the Interior
The Bureau of Land Management stated that it will maintain the “minimum number of employees needed to humanely care for” and feed the 50,000 wild horses in short and long-term holding facilities. Unfortunately, it will cease wild horse and burro adoptions, compounding its current problem of warehousing wild horses and burros at taxpayer expense, and will likely not be able to proceed with the more humane and fiscally responsible short-term round-ups needed for the application of fertility control and release of horses to live on the range.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service explained that law enforcement staff will be considered “essential” employees, including federal wildlife officers on the nation’s national wildlife refuges. Patrolling vast amounts of land with scarce resources, these officers are the last line of defense to prevent illegal killing of wildlife. Refuges and other federal lands are being closed to the public, presumably also closed to hunting and trapping and other consumptive use. Furthermore, service employees will no longer be able to work on the listing of imperiled animals under the Endangered Species Act, which means the consideration of potential listings for chimpanzees and African lions will be delayed.
Department of Commerce
The National Marine Fisheries Service has suspended its Dynamic Management Area program which protects endangered right whales from deadly ship strikes. The DMA program notifies ships of the “out of season” presence of right whales and asks that ships observe a 10 knot speed limit when going through the area to prevent deadly ship strikes. The North Atlantic right whale is critically endangered, with only a few hundred remaining, and the shutdown removes one of their protections.
Additionally, there will be no federal response for marine mammal strandings except for issues of public health and safety or live animal safety. The government will continue to respond to live animals that need immediate treatment, such as those with life threatening entanglements or beached cetaceans. However, for large whale entanglements the government has stated that significant review of the case may be needed prior to determining whether immediate response, and the use of government resources, is necessary.
Department of Health and Human Services
The National Institutes of Health said it will continue “animal care services to protect the health of NIH animals,” including 1,350,000 mice, 390,000 fish, 63,000 rats and 3,900 primates used in research. NIH also indicated it will “discontinue some veterinary services” and “will not take any actions on grant applications or awards,” which will delay work on developing more efficient and cost-effective methods of using non-animal alternatives in research.
The Food and Drug Administration noted that it “will be unable to support the majority of its food safety, nutrition, and cosmetics activities.” The means a delay on important rules to ensure the safety of pet food, in the wake of a number of recalls.
For a number of other agencies—from the Environmental Protection Agency to the Federal Trade Commission to U.S. Customs and Border Protection—it is unlikely that they could initiate any n
ew investigations during the shutdown, potentially hampering efforts to crack down on factory farm pollution, the mislabeling and false advertising of fur products, and even the import of dog fur and cockfighting birds across our borders. We will continue to monitor the developments as the shutdown unfolds, and keep you informed of its impact on animal protection.
