Animal Legal Def. Fund, Inc. v. Perdue
| Decision Date | 29 September 2017 |
| Docket Number | No. 16-5073.,16-5073. |
| Citation | 872 F.3d 602 |
| Parties | ANIMAL LEGAL DEFENSE FUND, INC., et al., Appellants v. Sonny PERDUE, Secretary, United States Department of Agriculture and Robert Gibbens, Western Regional Director, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Appellees |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit |
Stefanie Wilson argued the cause and filed the briefs for appellants. Katherine A. Meyer entered an appearance.
Delcianna J. Winders was on the brief for amicus curiae Delcianna J. Winders in support of plaintiffs-appellants.
Anna E. Frostic was on the brief for amici curiae The Humane Society of the United States and The Fund for Animals in support of plaintiffs-appellants.
Jeremy S. Simon, Assistant U.S. Attorney, argued the cause for appellees. With him on the brief was R. Craig Lawrence, Assistant U.S. Attorney.
Before: Garland, Chief Judge, Griffith, Circuit Judge, and Edwards, Senior Circuit Judge.
The Animal Welfare Act ("AWA" or "Act") charges the United States Department of Agriculture ("USDA") with administering a licensing scheme for animal exhibitors, including zoos. 7 U.S.C. § 2133 (2012). The Act directs the Secretary of Agriculture ("Secretary") to promulgate regulations governing minimum animal housing and care standards, id. § 2143, and also to issue licenses to entities and individuals seeking to engage in exhibition activities, id. § 2133. Although the Act leaves many regulatory details to the agency's discretion, it specifies that "no license shall be issued until the dealer or exhibitor shall have demonstrated that his facilities comply with the standards promulgated by the Secretary." Id.
USDA has bifurcated its approach to licensing: For initial license applications, an applicant must agree to comply with the agency's prescribed standards and regulations, pay an application fee, keep its facilities available for agency inspection, and pass an agency compliance inspection of its facilities before the license may be issued. 9 C.F.R. §§ 2.1 - 2.12. For license renewals, an applicant must submit an annual report, pay the appropriate application fee, certify compliance and agree to continue to comply with agency standards and regulations, id. , and agree to keep its facilities available for inspection by the agency "to ascertain the applicant's compliance with the standards and regulations," id . § 2.3(a). The agency treats the renewal procedure as administrative—that is, if the requirements are met, the agency will issue a license renewal. Id. § 2.2(b). Separately, USDA conducts random inspections of licensed facilities as part of its enforcement regime. See id. § 2.126. Violations discovered during these inspections may lead to license revocation or suspension, following notice and an opportunity for a hearing. Id. § 2.12 ; 7 U.S.C. § 2149.
Tom and Pamela Sellner own and operate the Cricket Hollow Zoo in Manchester, Iowa. USDA granted their initial license application in 1994, and it has renewed their license each year since. Appellants Tracey and Lisa Kuehl, along with the Animal Legal Defense Fund ("ALDF"), a non-profit animal rights organization, brought suit against the agency challenging its most recent renewal of the Sellners' license. Appellants alleged that, at the time of the renewal, the agency was aware that Cricket Hollow was in violation of numerous animal welfare requirements under the Act and its implementing regulations. Accordingly, they argued, the agency's decision to renew the Sellners' license was contrary to AWA's requirement that "no ... license shall be issued until the ... exhibitor shall have demonstrated that his facilities comply with the standards promulgated by the Secretary." 7 U.S.C. § 2133. They also asserted that the agency's reliance on the Sellners' self-certification of compliance as part of its renewal determination, despite having knowledge that the certification was false, was arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA").
The District Court dismissed the case, concluding that USDA's license renewal regulations constituted a permissible interpretation of the Act. ALDF v. Vilsack , 169 F.Supp.3d 6 (D.D.C. 2016). Finding that the challenged license renewal was issued in accordance with those regulations, the court held that none of the challenges in the complaint could succeed. Id. at 20. The Kuehls and ALDF appealed the District Court's decision to this court. We find that AWA's compliance demonstration requirement does not unambiguously preclude USDA's license renewal scheme and that the scheme is not facially unreasonable. Accordingly, for the reasons set forth below, we affirm the judgment of the District Court on the statutory claim. However, we vacate the District Court's order granting the Government's motion to dismiss Appellants' arbitrary and capricious claim, and remand the case to the District Court with instructions to remand the record to the agency for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Congress enacted the Animal Welfare Act in 1966 to ensure the humane treatment of animals used in medical research. Pub. L. 89-544, 80 Stat. 350 (Aug. 24, 1966); see also 7 U.S.C. § 2131. In 1970, Congress amended the Act to cover animal "exhibitors," a category that includes zoos. Pub. L. 91-579, 84 Stat. 1560-61 (Dec. 24, 1970); see also 7 U.S.C. § 2132(h). The Act authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to "promulgate standards to govern the humane handling, care, treatment, and transportation of animals by ... exhibitors," including minimum standards addressing the animals' "handling, housing, feeding, watering, sanitation, ventilation, shelter ..., adequate veterinary care, ... [and] for a physical environment adequate to promote the psychological well-being of primates." 7 U.S.C. § 2143(a).
In order to ensure compliance with those standards, the Act prohibits an individual from exhibiting animals "unless and until" he or she has "obtained a license from the Secretary and such license shall not have been suspended or revoked." Id. § 2134. The Act delegates to the Secretary authority to prescribe the "form and manner" by which an exhibitor must apply for a license, "[p]rovided[ ] [t]hat no such license shall be issued until the ... exhibitor shall have demonstrated that his facilities comply with the standards promulgated by the Secretary pursuant to section 2143 of [the AWA]." Id. § 2133 (emphasis omitted).
The Act also grants the agency enforcement authority. "If the Secretary has reason to believe that any person licensed as a[n] ... exhibitor ... has violated or is violating any provision of [the Act], or any of the rules or regulations or standards promulgated by the Secretary [t]hereunder, he may suspend such person's license temporarily ...." Id. § 2149(a). "[A]fter notice and opportunity for hearing," the Secretary "may suspend for such additional period as he may specify, or revoke such license, if such violation is determined to have occurred." Id. The Secretary may also impose civil and criminal penalties. Id. § 2149(b), (d).
Finally, the Secretary may "promulgate such rules, regulations, and orders as he may deem necessary in order to effectuate the purposes of [the statute]."Id. § 2151.
The Secretary has delegated his responsibilities under the Act to the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service ("APHIS"). See Animal Welfare; Inspection, Licensing, and Procurement of Animals, 69 Fed. Reg. 42089, 42089 (July 14, 2004) (). Pursuant to that authority, APHIS has adopted a comprehensive scheme of animal welfare requirements applicable to licensees. See 9 C.F.R. §§ 3.1 - 3.142 (2017). These include general and species-specific requirements, such as providing potable water daily, id. § 3.55, keeping enclosures reasonably free of waste and regularly sanitized, id. § 3.1, removing feces and food waste daily, id. § 3.11, and addressing social needs of primates to "promote [their] psychological well-being," id. § 3.81.
The agency has also promulgated a series of regulations governing the granting, renewal, and revocation of animal exhibition licenses. Since 1989, the implementing regulations have distinguished between applications for an initial license and those for annual license renewal. In their present form, the regulations direct that an applicant for an initial license must (1) "acknowledge receipt of the regulations and standards and agree to comply with them by signing the application form," id. § 2.2(a); (2) submit the appropriate fee, id. § 2.6; and (3) "be inspected by APHIS and demonstrate compliance with the regulations and standards ... before APHIS will issue a license," id. § 2.3(b). By contrast, an applicant for a license renewal must (1) pay the annual fee before expiration of the license, id. § 2.1(d)(1) ; (2) self-certify "by signing the application form that to the best of the applicant's knowledge and belief, he or she is in compliance with the regulations and standards and agrees to continue to comply with [the same]," id. § 2.2(b); and (3) submit an annual report detailing the number of animals owned, held, or exhibited at his or her facility, id. § 2.7. Both types of applicants "must make his or her animals, premises, facilities, vehicles, equipment, other premises, and records available for inspection during business hours and at other times mutually agreeable to the applicant and APHIS." Id. § 2.3(a). "A license will be issued to any applicant" that has met the relevant regulatory requirements and has paid the application and license fees. Id. § 2.1(c).
Tom and Pamela Sellner first applied for an animal exhibition license over twenty...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Wash. Alliance of Tech. Workers v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec.
...the intent of Congress is clear, the reviewing court must give effect to that unambiguously expressed intent." Animal Legal Def. Fund v. Perdue, 872 F.3d 602, 610 (D.C. Cir. 2017) (quoting Edwards, Elliot, & Levy, Federal Standards of Review 166–67 (2d ed. 2013)). In determining whether "Co......
-
St. Mary Med. Ctr. v. Becerra
...the ambiguous term to the Secretary, and the Court must give deference to that interpretation. See Animal Legal Def. Fund, Inc. v. Perdue , 872 F.3d 602, 617 (D.C. Cir. 2017). Here, the Secretary concluded that "rural hospitals are ‘not described in’ Section 4410(a) because their wage indic......
-
Open Cmtys. Alliance v. Carson
...for its action, including a rational connection between the facts found and the choice made.’ " Animal Legal Def. Fund, Inc. v. Perdue , 872 F.3d 602, 611 (D.C. Cir. 2017) (quoting State Farm , 463 U.S. at 43, 103 S.Ct. 2856 (alterations and internal quotation marks omitted))."A party seeki......
-
Nat'l Fair Hous. Alliance v. Carson, Civil Action No. (BAH) 18-1076
...for its action, including a rational connection between the facts found and the choice made.’ " Animal Legal Def. Fund, Inc. v. Perdue , 872 F.3d 602, 611 (D.C. Cir. 2017) (alterations omitted) (quoting State Farm , 463 U.S. at 43, 103 S.Ct. 2856 )."A party seeking a preliminary injunction ......