United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service National Agricultural Library Animal Welfare Information Center

Information Resources on Marine Mammals AWIC Resource Series No. 35 - August 2006 Compiled by: Richard L. Crawford, D.V.M. Animal Welfare Information Center National Agricultural Library U.S. Department of Agriculture Published by: U. S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service National Agricultural Library Animal Welfare Information Center Beltsville, Maryland 20705 Contact us: http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/contact.php Web site: http://awic.nal.usda.gov Published in cooperation with the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine Web Policies and Important Links

Introduction | Manatees | Sea Otters

The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) regulates warm-blooded animals used for research, public exhibition, transportation in commerce, or sold in for the whole sale pet trade. Thus, all marine mammals used for public exhibition or research are regulated under the AWA. This includes cetaceans (i.e. whales, dolphins) and pinnipeds (i.e. seals, sea lions, walrus), sea otters, polar bears, and manatees. Most marine mammals in captivity are in marine mammal parks or zoos. However, a few are also used in scientific research. Dolphins and whales in the wild are also regulated by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Sea otters, walrus, manatees and polar bears in the wild are regulated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The purpose of this resource is to provide additional information on marine mammals in captivity to assist facility personnel in providing proper care, husbandry and nutrition to them.

Information on how to request materials that are included in the collection of the National Agricultural Library (NAL) may be found on the Collection Services website at http://www.nal.usda.gov/services/request.shtml. Please read carefully as there are certain restrictions on media and document types.

The Animal Welfare Information Center, http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/contact.php
http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/pubs/MarineMammals/MarineMammals.htm
January 23, 2007