Hal Haviland v. Earl L. Butz, Secretary of Agriculture

543 F.2d 169, 36 A.L.R. Fed. 615, 177 U.S. App. D.C. 22, 1976 U.S. App. LEXIS 12259
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedMarch 23, 1976
Docket74-1322
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 543 F.2d 169 (Hal Haviland v. Earl L. Butz, Secretary of Agriculture) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hal Haviland v. Earl L. Butz, Secretary of Agriculture, 543 F.2d 169, 36 A.L.R. Fed. 615, 177 U.S. App. D.C. 22, 1976 U.S. App. LEXIS 12259 (D.C. Cir. 1976).

Opinion

SPOTTSWOOD W. ROBINSON, III, Circuit Judge:

Hal Haviland owns and operates a professional animal act in which dogs and ponies are featured. 1 The act is presented to paying audiences in a number of states 2 and has occasionally appeared on commercial television. 3 In the view that Haviland was an “exhibitor” as defined by the Animal Welfare Act of 1970, 4 the Department of Agriculture gave notice that he was in violation of its licensing provisions 5 and that proceedings might be instituted to compel compliance. 6

To avoid the risk of possible penalties, 7 Haviland obtained an exhibitor’s license. 8 He then brought suit in the District Court against the Secretary of Agriculture for a judgment declaring that he was not subject to regulation under the Act. 9 The court granted summary judg *172 ment in favor of the Secretary 10 and Haviland now appeals.

Reversal is urged on several grounds. Haviland asserts that the Act, properly construed, does not extend to his dog and pony show, and that inclusion of animal acts in the Secretary’s implementing regulations is an unconstitutional usurpation of legislative power. 11 He further contends that the Act exceeds congressional power under the Commerce Clause 12 and discriminates invidiously in contravention of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. 13 We affirm.

I

In 1966, Congress enacted the Federal Laboratory Animal Welfare Act 14 “to deal with the abuses that have developed as a result of the Nation’s vast program of medical research,” 15 particularly research involving experimentation with animals. 16 The Animal Welfare Act of 1970 expanded the coverage of the 1966 statute to enlarge the class of protected animals and to regulate their use for exhibition purposes or as pets as well as their use for research purposes. 17

*173 The Secretary claims that Haviland is subject to the Animal Welfare Act as an “exhibitor,” defined by the Act as

any person (public or private) exhibiting any animals, which were purchased in commerce or the intended distribution of which affects commerce, or will affect commerce, to the public for compensation, as determined by the Secretary, and such term includes carnivals, circuses and zoos exhibiting such animals whether operated for profit or not; but such term excludes retail pet stores, organizations sponsoring and all persons participating in State and country [sic ] fairs, livestock shows, rodeos, purebred dog and cat shows, and any other fairs or exhibitions intended to advance agricultural arts and sciences, as may be determined by the Secretary. 18 The Secretary’s regulations augment the statutory definition by inserting the words “animal acts” between “circuses” and “zoos.” 19

Haviland contends that this addition is unauthorized — that the Act, as written and intended, does not embrace animal performances — and that the Secretary could not expand its coverage. 20 We think, however, that exhibitions utilizing animals to which the Act extends its protections 21 were fairly comprehended among its objects. 22 The Act itself declares that one of *174 its goals is “to insure that certain animals intended for use ... for exhibition purposes . . . are provided humane care and treatment. . . . ” 23 The statutory specification is that “[t]he term ‘exhibitor’ . . . includes carnivals, circuses, and zoos exhibiting such animals,” 24 and not that other essentially similar enterprises are excluded. In like vein, the accompanying report of the House Committee on Agriculture 25 states that a prime objective was to “bring into the regulatory framework of the Act for the first time exhibitors (such as circuses, zoos, carnivals and road shows) . . . .” 26 The words “includes” and “such as” point convincingly to the conclusion that the listing of types of exhibitions in the statutory text was intended to be but partial and illustrative.

Moreover, courts are duty bound to follow “the construction of a statute by those charged with its execution . unless there are compelling indications that it is wrong.” 27 This “deference . is heightened when,” as here, “the case involves the construction of a new statute by its implementing agency.” 28 We see nothing suggesting persuasively that the Secretary’s interpretation of “exhibitor” is incorrect. Certainly we discern no difference between animal acts on the one hand and circuses and carnivals on the other that is significant enough to warrant an upset of the Secretary’s construction as a departure from the intent of Congress. 29

We are thus constrained to reject Haviland’s contention that the statutory listing of covered enterprises is exhaustive, and to sustain the Secretary’s interpretative regulation. The Secretary is empowered “to promulgate such rules, regulations, and orders as he may deem necessary in order to effect the purposes of” the statutory scheme. 30 It has long been recognized that delegations of this kind are necessary to enable Congress to exert its legislative powers effectively. 31 We find nothing in this delegation to justify the extraordinary step *175 of declaring it void. 32 We hold that Haviland is within the regulatory compass of the Act.

II

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Perfect Puppy, Inc. v. City of East Providence
98 F. Supp. 3d 408 (D. Rhode Island, 2015)
Levine v. Conner
540 F. Supp. 2d 1113 (N.D. California, 2008)
McNeal v. Police & Firefighters' Retirement & Relief Board
488 A.2d 931 (District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 1985)
Richard "Dick" Robinson v. United States
718 F.2d 336 (Tenth Circuit, 1983)
Kalaris v. Donovan
697 F.2d 376 (D.C. Circuit, 1983)
Hoeber v. District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency
483 F. Supp. 1356 (District of Columbia, 1980)
Committee for Auto Responsibility v. Solomon
603 F.2d 992 (D.C. Circuit, 1979)
Cold Indian Springs Corp. v. Tp. of Ocean
380 A.2d 1178 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 1977)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
543 F.2d 169, 36 A.L.R. Fed. 615, 177 U.S. App. D.C. 22, 1976 U.S. App. LEXIS 12259, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hal-haviland-v-earl-l-butz-secretary-of-agriculture-cadc-1976.