TETERBORO — U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez will join with animal welfare advocates on Monday to oppose the removal of animal handling records from a federal website – a move they say will allow puppy mills and other animal abusers to go undetected.
Menendez and representatives of the Humane Society, the Animal Protection League of New Jersey, and the Best Friends animal welfare society will gather at the Bergen County Animal Shelter in Teterboro, in reaction to the removal of records from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website involving the care and treatment of animals by dealers and other handlers.
New Jersey is one of seven jurisdictions, including New York City, to require that puppies, kittens, horses and other animals only be sold by vendors that are registered with the USDA and have no outstanding animal welfare violations.
Animal welfare advocates say deletion of the data from the USDA website on Feb. 3 makes it difficult if not impossible for would-be purchasers to confirm that handlers meet those requirements.
Menendez and animal welfare advocates will discuss initiatives intended to offset the move. An advisory by Menendez mentioned, “the Trump Administration’s purging of vital information from government websites, including data and inspection reports on breeders who abuse their animals.”
However, the USDA posted a statement on its website saying the removal of the information was part of a review that began in 2016, under the Obama Administration, to address privacy concerns and litigation, “well before the change of Administration.”
And, the USDA said the information was removed out of “an abundance of caution,” and that “these decisions are not final.”
In the meantime, the USDA said, the records could still be made available through freedom of information requests.
Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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