APHIS Factsheet

Investigative and Enforcement Services January 2012 

Questions and 

Answers: APHIS 

Enforcement 

Process 

Streamlining 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal 

and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is 

responsible for setting and enforcing regulations that 

protect the health and safety of American agriculture 

and natural resources. APHIS investigates and 

enforces penalties for violations involving animal 

welfare and horse protection issues; agricultural 

import and export rules, and quarantine rules. The 

Agency also targets unauthorized releases of 

genetically engineered organisms and enforces 

standards concerning accredited veterinarians and 

veterinary biological products. APHIS is very serious 

about taking enforcement action against those who 

jeopardize its mission by violating its regulations.

 In recent years, however, the number of open 

enforcement investigations has increased to well over 

2,000, a volume that has proven to be too large to 

enable APHIS to swiftly address and deter serious 

violations. Consequently, APHIS is in the process of 

streamlining its processes by reducing the number 

of open investigations in the backlog and drastically 

decreasing the time it takes to resolve an investigation. 

We believe that more timely enforcement action will 

better deter future violations of APHIS regulatory 

requirements. In addition, we realize that the length 

of time it currently takes to resolve investigations is 

frustrating for our stakeholders and not an effective or 

efficient use of our resources.

Q. Why does APHIS conduct investigations?

A. APHIS’ Investigative and Enforcement Services 

(IES) unit investigates alleged violations of the statutes 

and regulations administered by Agency programs. 

These violations can have serious and costly impacts 

to American agriculture, the welfare of animals, and 

the public. Information gathered through investigations 

enables the Agency to pursue enforcement action 

against persons who do not comply with APHIS’ 

regulatory requirements. 

Q. How does the enforcement process work?

A. When APHIS program personnel discover apparent 

violations of our regulations, they may—depending 

on the seriousness of the issue—request that IES 

initiate a formal investigation, which includes gathering 

documentary and photographic evidence, interviewing 

witnesses, and other actions. After the investigation 

is complete, APHIS evaluates the evidence and 

determines whether to take one of a number of 

enforcement actions to address the alleged violations. 

 The action taken depends on the seriousness 

of the issues, the number of alleged violations, and 

other criteria. APHIS can decide to issue an official 

warning or a settlement agreement, which could include 

a monetary penalty or other sanction and is quicker 

and less costly than litigation. The Agency can also 

decide to pursue formal, legal prosecution through the 

administrative law process. Lastly, APHIS also refers 

some cases, such as those involving animal fi ghting or 

other serious matters, to USDA’s Office of the Inspector 

General for possible criminal prosecution. 

Q. How will APHIS improve the enforcement 

process?

A. There are two parts to this effort. First, APHIS is 

working to signifi cantly reduce the current investigation 

backlog. By reducing the number of investigations 

in process at any given time, the Agency will be able 

to focus its resources on moving the investigations 

that involve the most serious violations through the 

enforcement process more expeditiously. 

Second, APHIS is implementing improvements to the 

enforcement process identifi ed during a successful 

Lean Six Sigma business process review and recent 

pilot test. These steps should improve internal 

communications and case management and thereby 

reduce the time it takes to process investigations.

Q. How many enforcement cases are currently 

pending? 

A. At the end of fi scal year 2011, APHIS had 

approximately 2,050 investigated cases ongoing in 

the fi eld or pending review and action in headquarters. 

Since then we have reduced that number to about 

1,500. It is estimated that IES’ maximum capacity for 

processing investigations is up to 1,000 cases per year.

Q. How will APHIS reduce the backlog of cases?

A. APHIS is working to identify, within the existing 

backlog of open investigations, those that are the 

highest priority for investigation and those that are 
lower priority and should be withdrawn or closed out. 

To determine the highest priority cases, the Agency is 

using an analytical tool called Decision Lens that helps 

decision-makers weigh specifi c criteria. These criteria 

include: each investigation’s signifi cance with respect 

to protecting plant health, animal health, and the 

welfare of animals; APHIS’ ability to effectively pursue 

the alleged violation(s); the age and potential impact of 

the alleged violation(s); and whether the investigation 

involves a person who has a history of not complying 

with APHIS regulatory requirements. 

Q. When will APHIS start its backlog reduction 

efforts? 

A. APHIS is already engaged in prioritizing cases.

Q. What will happen to the potential cases that are 

deemed lower priority? Will these cases simply be 

closed without further action?

A. As we sort through the investigations, we are 

identifying those that may not warrant potential judicial 

proceedings. Those investigations that we believe 

lack adequate supporting evidence will be closed. In 

general, for investigations that we believe contain 

substantiated violations, we will issue official warning 

letters. Although official warning letters do not include 

a monetary penalty, they are official enforcement 

actions and will be considered as part of a person’s 

enforcement history if additional action is deemed 

necessary in the future. 

 We will also be using a compliance tool called 

“letters of information.” Program personnel may send 

letters of information in response to non-egregious 

violations, with the aim of educating an individual 

on the correct way to remedy a lack of compliance 

with the Agency’s regulations. Letters of information 

are an educational tool to help bring individuals into 

compliance with the law and build their relationship 

with our Agency. They will not be considered official 

enforcement action.

Q. Will APHIS add new cases while it deals with 

the backlog of cases? If so, how many new cases 

per year does APHIS intend to initiate?

A. APHIS will strive to maintain roughly 600-800 

investigations in its system at any given time. We 

will also use the criteria developed to prioritize and 

evaluate current investigations to determine whether 

new investigations should be opened. This volume 

should enable us to pursue investigations effectively 

and meet our goals for issuing timely enforcement 

actions. 

Q. How will it be determined in the future whether 

to open a case for investigation?

A. As APHIS officials are sorting through the current 

backlog of open investigations, they are collecting 

information about the characteristics of those cases 

deemed to be of higher and lower priority. Based 

on this information, along with the factors mentioned 

above, each Agency program will then develop specifi c 

criteria to assist officials in determining whether to 

refer or accept new potential cases for investigation.

Q. Does this new approach mean that APHIS will 

be less aggressive in its enforcement efforts?

A. Absolutely not. APHIS is better utilizing resources 

currently available to meet its regulatory mission. 

By prioritizing potential enforcement investigations, 

the Agency can ensure that more serious violations 

receive the attention necessary to bring about justice 

quicker. Faster processing of investigations should 

also stop further violations from occurring while waiting 

for a lengthy investigative process to conclude.

Q. What other steps is APHIS taking to streamline 

the enforcement process? 

A. The process streamlining effort includes, among 

other things: creating templates to standardize 

communication and reduce errors; pursuing action on 

the most serious and best substantiated violations in 

any given investigation rather than delaying to collect 

evidence to support additional violations; and taking a 

more national, rather than regional or local, approach 

to enforcement and policy decisions. These changes 

will improve investigation management, internal 

communication, and decision-making. 

Q. How will these efforts improve the time it takes 

to process a case?

A. At present, it takes an average of about 600 days 

to resolve an investigation of alleged violations and to 

pursue informal enforcement action, such as an official 

warning or stipulated monetary penalty. (Cases that 

are referred to the Department’s Office of the General 

Counsel or Office of the Inspector General can take 

considerably longer.) Through our streamlining 

efforts, we expect to reduce the average time it takes 

to resolve an investigation to 365 days. This would 

amount to a time savings of about approximately 40 

percent.

 

Q. Where does the penalty money go when fi nes 

are paid? Will APHIS use this to increase the 

investigator workforce? 

A. Penalties paid in connection with alleged violations 

are paid to the general fund of the U.S. Treasury, like 

penalties paid in connection with violations of nearly all 

Federal statutes. APHIS, like other Federal agencies, 

is not authorized to keep or utilize any portion of the 

penalties assessed.

United States Department of Agriculture • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Safeguarding American Agriculture

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a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil 

Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-

9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).