Rules of Practice for Certain Adjudicatory Proceedings Under the Animal Welfare Act Regulations

We are amending the administrative regulations of the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture to provide that the rules of practice contained in those regulations shall be applicable to all adjudicatory proceedings under the license denial and termination provisions of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) regulations. The AWA regulations provide that a person whose license application has been denied or whose license has been terminated may request a hearing in accordance with the applicable rules of practice for the purpose of showing why the application for license should not be denied or the license should not be terminated. This final rule is necessary to clarify the rules of practice that will apply to such hearings.