The Department of Agriculture has removed some personal information from documents posted online involving the Animal Welfare Act and the Horse Protection Act. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has shared the information online for the last decade, including inspection reports, research facility reports and lists of persons licensed under the Animal Welfare Act. APHIS has also been publishing lists of persons licensed by USDA-certified horse industry organizations and associations to inspect horses for compliance with the Horse Protection Act. However, in an explanation of the action on its website, APHIS indicated that continuous monitoring of court rulings and guidance regarding the Privacy Act played a part in the decision, which it made with the support of the Office of the General Counsel. Online publication Meatingplace reports that anyone seeking information from APHIS regarding the reports and publications should now submit Freedom of Information Act request. Animal activist groups have in the past used these records to monitor government regulation of animal treatment and condemned the announcement.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.
From: USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Updates to APHIS’ Website Involving Animal Welfare Act and Horse Protection Act Compliance Information
For more than a decade, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has shared information on its website concerning its administration of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and Horse Protection Act (HPA). This information includes inspection reports, research facility annual reports, and lists of persons licensed and registered under the AWA, as well as lists of persons licensed by USDA-certified horse industry organizations and associations (HIOs) to inspect horses for compliance with the HPA. More recently, APHIS also began posting AWA and HPA regulatory correspondence and enforcement-related information to its website for the general public to view.
APHIS, during the past year, has conducted a comprehensive review of the information it posts on its website for the general public to view. As a result of the comprehensive review, APHIS has implemented actions to remove certain personal information from documents it posts on APHIS’ website involving the Horse Protection Act and the Animal Welfare Act. Going forward, APHIS will remove from its website inspection reports, regulatory correspondence, research facility annual reports, and enforcement records that have not received final adjudication. APHIS will also review and redact, as necessary, the lists of licensees and registrants under the AWA, as well as lists of designated qualified persons (DQPs) licensed by USDA-certified horse industry organizations.
Those seeking information from APHIS regarding inspection reports, regulatory correspondence, and enforcement records should submit Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for that information. Records will be released when authorized and in a manner consistent with the FOIA and Privacy Act. If the same records are frequently requested via the FOIA process, in most instances APHIS may post the appropriately redacted versions to its website. In addition, some enforcement records (such as initial decision and orders, default decisions, and consent decisions) will continue to be available on the USDA’s Office of Administrative Law Judge’s website (https://www.oaljdecisions.dm.usda.gov/)
Questions and Answers
Q. Why has the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) taken the Animal Care Search Tool, regulatory correspondence (such as official warnings), and enforcement records off the APHIS website?
During the past year, APHIS has conducted a comprehensive review of the information it posts on the APHIS website for the general public to view and has implemented actions to remove certain personal information posted on its website involving the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and Horse Protection Act (HPA). APHIS is removing from its website inspection reports, research facility annual reports, regulatory correspondence (such as official warnings), and certain enforcement records (such as pre-litigation settlement agreements and administrative complaints) that have not received final adjudication.
Q: What has occurred?
Courts are continuously issuing decisions that provide agencies with guidance on interpreting and applying laws applicable to the release of information to the public by the Federal government, including the Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act. In addition, the U.S. Department of Justice maintains comprehensive guidance involving the Privacy Act, Freedom of Information Act, and other laws, and updates such guidance based on legal developments. APHIS, with the support from the Office of the General Counsel, continuously monitors these sources of information and refinements to APHIS’ practices are made accordingly.
Q. What are the new changes that APHIS is implementing?
APHIS will remove from its website inspection reports, regulatory correspondence (such as official warnings), research facility annual reports and enforcement records (such as pre-litigation settlement agreements and administrative complaints) that have not received final adjudication. APHIS will review and redact, as necessary, the lists of licensees and registrants maintained under the AWA, as well as the lists of persons licensed by Horse Industry Organizations to inspect horses for compliance with the HPA.
Q. Can the public still access these documents?
Those seeking information from APHIS regarding inspection reports, research facility annual reports, regulatory correspondence, lists of regulated entities, and enforcement related matters may submit Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for that information. FOIA requests can be submitted here: https://efoia-pal.usda.gov/palMain.aspx. Records will be released when authorized and in a manner consistent with the FOIA and Privacy Act. Also, consistent with recent amendments to the FOIA, if the same records are frequently requested records under the FOIA, and are subject to release under the FOIA and Privacy Act, APHIS will post the appropriately redacted versions to its website.
We (USDA) remain equally committed to being transparent and responsive to our stakeholders’ informational needs, and maintaining the privacy rights of individuals with whom we come in contact. For more information on preparing and submitting Freedom of Information Act requests, please visit https://efoia-pal.usda.gov/palMain.aspx.