50244 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 186 / Thursday, September 25, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

of this section, must be filed by

November 1, 1997. Disposition of

peanuts imported in excess of the 1997

peanut import quotas must be filed

within 120 days of the peanuts’ entry by

the Customs Service. Extension of these

reporting periods must be granted by the

AMS on a case by case basis upon a

showing that such extension would be

justified. Requests for extension must be

submitted in writing to the Marketing

Order Administration Branch, Fruit and

Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O.

Box 96456, room 2525–S, Washington,

DC 20090–6456, Attn: Peanut Imports or

faxing the request to (202) 720–5698. An

extension request must include the

Customs Service entry number, relevant

grade and aflatoxin certificates (if any)

issued on the outstanding peanuts, and

the reasons for delay in obtaining final

disposition of the peanuts.

(4) Failure to fully comply with

quality and handling requirements or

failure to notify the Secretary of

disposition of all foreign produced

peanuts, as required under this section,

may result in a compliance investigation

by the Secretary. Falsification of reports

submitted to the Secretary is a violation

of Federal law punishable by fine or

imprisonment, or both.

* * * * *

Dated: September 19, 1997.

Robert C. Keeney,

Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 97–25411 Filed 9–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 1205

1997 Amendment to Cotton Board

Rules and Regulations Adjusting

Supplemental Assessment on Imports

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Correction to final rule.

SUMMARY: This document corrects the

final rule published September 2, 1997

(62 FR 46412) which amended the

Cotton Board Rules and Regulations by

lowering the value assigned to imported

cotton for the purpose of calculating

supplemental assessments collected for

use by the Cotton Research and

Promotion Program.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 2, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Craig Shackelford, (202) 720-2259.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Agricultural Marketing Service

(AMS) amended the Cotton Board Rules

and Regulations by lowering the value

assigned to imported cotton for the

purpose of calculating supplemental

assessments collected for use by the

Cotton Research and Promotion

Program. This action is required by this

regulation on an annual basis to ensure

that the assessments collected on

imported cotton and the cotton content

of imported products remain similar to

those paid on domestically produced

cotton. As a result of changes in the

1997 Harmonized Tariff Schedule

(HTS), numbering changes in the import

assessment table are amended. Eleven

HTS numbers were to be eliminated

from the assessment table because

negligible assessments have been

collected on these numbers and their

elimination would contribute to

reducing the overall burden to

importers.

Need for Correction

In rule FR Doc. 97–23218 published

on September 2, 1997 (62 FR 46412),

make the following correction. On page

46415, in the third column, immediately

following the HTS number 5212216090

remove the entries for HTS numbers

5309214010, 5309214090, 5309294010,

5311004020, 5407810010, 5407810030,

5407912020, 5408312020, 5408329020,

5408349020, and 5408349095.

Dated: September 18, 1997.

Norma McDill,

Acting Director, Cotton Division.

[FR Doc. 97–25278 Filed 9–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

9 CFR Parts 1 and 3

[Docket No. 95–078–4]

RIN 0579–AA74

Humane Treatment of Dogs; Tethering;

Clarification

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule; clarification.

SUMMARY: On August 13, 1997, we

published in the Federal Register (62

FR 43272–43275, Docket No. 95–078–2)

a final rule that removed the option for

facilities regulated under the Animal

Welfare Act to use tethering as a means

of primary enclosure. We also added a

provision to the regulations to permit

regulated facilities to temporarily tether

a dog if they obtain approval from the

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service. The purpose of this notice is to

clarify what kinds of facilities are

regulated under the Animal Welfare Act

and, subsequently, what kinds of

facilities must comply with the final

rule on tethering.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Stephen Smith, Staff Animal Health

Technician, Animal Care, APHIS, suite

6D02, 4700 River Road Unit 84,

Riverdale, MD 20737–1234, (301) 734–

4972, or e-mail:

snsmith@aphis.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On August 13, 1997, we published in

the Federal Register (62 FR 43272–

43275, Docket No. 95–078–2) a final

rule that amended the regulations by

removing the option for facilities

regulated under the Animal Welfare Act

to use tethering as a means of primary

enclosure. We also added a provision to

the regulations to state that regulated

facilities may temporarily tether a dog if

they obtain approval from the Animal

and Plant Health Inspection Service

(APHIS).

This rulemaking was based on our

experience in enforcing the Animal

Welfare Act, which has shown that

tethering can be an inhumane practice

when used as a means of primary

enclosure in facilities regulated under

the Animal Welfare Act. Typically, this

inappropriate use of tethering involves

dogs that are permanently tethered

without opportunity for regular

exercise. This was the basis for our

position that tethering is inhumane.

However, we recognize that under other

circumstances (intermittent use, dogs

are vigorously exercised, pets are on

running tethers, dogs have close

oversight, etc.) the use of tethering may

be entirely appropriate and humane. We

did not intend to imply that tethering of

dogs under all circumstances is

inhumane, nor that tethering under any

circumstances must be prohibited.

Since publication of the final rule, we

have been made aware that some

members of the public are confused as

to who must comply with this final rule.

We have received numerous inquiries

from various kinds of dog owners who

tether their dogs. These dog owners are

concerned that, pursuant to the final

rule, they will no longer be able to

tether their dogs. We are publishing this

notice in order to make it clear who

must comply with the final rule, and