USDA to post commercial dealer inspection reports online!

Great news for anti-puppy mill advocates! Effective May 26th!
Cross post to interested parties.

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_welfare/downloads/stakeholder/stakeholder5_13_2009.pdf

Electronic Posting of Inspection (A, B, C, E, H & T) Reports
May 13, 2009

Good morning,

I would like to take this opportunity to update you about new information
on our Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_welfare/. In the last
several years, APHIS began posting to its Web site certain frequently
requested documents related to animal welfare, including facility inspection
reports. Our goal was to be as transparent as possible and eventually create
a system that would enable us to post all of our inspection reports online. I
am happy to announce that APHIS has achieved that goal and beginning
May 26, 2009, all inspection reports for Class A, B, and C licensees and
Class E, H, and T registrants (animal breeders, dealers, exhibitors, and
registered exhibitors, intermediate handlers, and carriers respectively) will
be available online.

In the future, we also plan to post inspection reports for Class R registrants
(research facilities); and those we do on a courtesy basis for Class F and
Class V entities (Federal agencies and Veteran's Administration facilities,
respectively). We will provide an update on our progress in that area soon.
In addition, we are looking closely at reestablishing our practice of sharing
information with stakeholders regarding enforcement actions taken under
the Animal Welfare Act. Again, we will share more details once we reach a
decision about how best to convey this information.

Under the Animal Welfare Act, APHIS issues licenses and registers certain
animal businesses and research facilities. Once licensed or registered, those
entities must undergo periodic inspections in which their recordkeeping
practices, housing structures, cleanliness, and handling of covered animals
is reviewed for compliance with the AWA.

During these inspections, reports are generated that notify a licensee or
registrant if anything needs to be improved in order to meet the Agency's
requirements. Inspection reports are currently available to the public
through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. For the past several
years, inspection reports have been the most

frequently requested document from APHIS with approximately 850
requests fulfilled each year.

To access the inspection reports, visit the APHIS homepage at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov and click on FOIA Reading Room, in the
right-hand portion of the screen. The inspection reports will be available
under the Animal Welfare heading in the Reading Room.

Choose the type of licensee or registrant you are interested in, and then
choose the State.

Once you choose the State, you will be able to scroll through the
alphabetical list of licensee or registrant names and make your selection.
The documents are available in PDF format and you can open, print, and/or
save as many as you like. Our list will be updated monthly.

Many of you may know that we maintain and make available lists of active
licensed and registered facilities on our Web site. Many people have used
these "active" lists to locate AWA-regulated facilities. For ease of reference
we will continue to provide these lists to help you cross reference with
the available inspection reports.

The posting of inspection reports to our Web site is a significant step in
our ongoing efforts to be as transparent as possible about how we enforce
animal welfare standards.

This effort is consistent with the direction of President Obama to Federal
agencies regarding openness and transparency. We have received positive
feedback from many interested parties on the information we make
available on the APHIS Web site, and we welcome continued feedback from
our partners as we make additional strides.

Dr. Chester Gipson
Deputy Administrator for Animal Care, APHIS

Forwarded message - for more info, click on title above;
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_welfare/downloads/stakeholder/stakeholder5_13_2009.pdf