Animal Welfare: Animal Welfare Act; Class B licensee definition; rulemaking petition; comment request,

[Federal Register: May 23, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 99)]

[Proposed Rules]

[Page 28902]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr23my07-21]

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Part 1

[Docket No. APHIS-2006-0158]

Animal Welfare; Petition for Rulemaking

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of petition and request for comments; extension of comment period.

SUMMARY: We are extending the comment period for our notice of petition and request for comments concerning the definition of Class ``B'' licensee in the Animal Welfare Act regulations. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before July 9, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov , select ``Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service'' from the agency drop-down menu, then click ``Submit.'' In the Docket ID column, select APHIS-2006-0158 to submit or view public comments and to view supporting and related materials available electronically. Information on using Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing documents, submitting comments, and viewing the docket after the close of the comment period, is available through the site's ``User Tips'' link.

Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. APHIS- 2006-0158, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A- 03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. APHIS-2006-0158.

Reading Room: You may read any comments that we receive on Docket No. APHIS-2006-0158 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: Additional information about APHIS and its programs is available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Jerry DePoyster, Senior Veterinary Medical Officer, Animal Care, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 84, Riverdale, MD 20737-1234; (301) 734-7586.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 10, 2007, we published in the Federal Register (72 FR 17814, Docket No. APHIS-2006-0158) a notice of petition and request for comments. That document notified the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service had received a petition from The Hunte Corporation requesting that we replace the definition of Class ``B'' licensee in the Animal Welfare Act regulations with four new categories of licensees: Pet distributor, exhibitor animal distributor, laboratory animal distributor, and other distributor.

Comments on the notice were required to be received on or before June 11, 2007. We are extending the comment period on Docket No. APHIS- 2006-0158 for an additional 30 days. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2131-2159; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.7.

Done in Washington, DC, this 17th day of May 2007. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. E7-9901 Filed 5-22-07; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-34-P