Project Background - VACoder/APHIS.info GitHub Wiki

Short Overview:

The APHIS Licensee Checker allows anyone to check on the inspection history of a USDA license holders. Currently this data is difficult to find, is not machine readable, does not meet federal ADA accessibility requirements, reveals PII* and is not reachable when it is needed: at the pet store, the breeder's house or wherever the decision to purchase a pet takes place.

What Event:

The Hampton Roads Code Brigade held in Norfolk, VA

Additional Team Members:

This team is being formed from members in the Old Dominion and Hampton Roads Code For America groups. I got started with Code for America at the June 1st Hack For America event so I'm a relative newcomer.

If the challenge you addressed is not...

At the event I discussed this idea with Kevin Curry and other members primarily about how to go about approaching The USDA and APHIS and requesting that two specific sets of data from their facility inspection reports be made available as weekly, bi-weekly or monthly tab-separated files or Excel spreadsheets.

Project/Story Description

APHIS is responsible for inspecting a wide number of facilities to insure that the licensees are operating in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act. Occasionally there are licensees who fall short of the minimum standard of treatment for their animals, be it cats, ferrets, birds, dogs or some other species.

An inspector might visit a location for years attempting to bring the licensee into compliance all the while the provider is able to continue to operate and to sell their animals to the public. These inspections are of obvious benefit for the welfare of the animals but also for the consumer who will be bringing them home. When an animal has been reared in a facility where inadequate veterinary care and living conditions has not been provided they are often sick or have behavioral issues. It is very difficult to nearly impossible for the consumer to know that the ferret they are purchasing was not raised in substandard conditions when they are at the point of purchase. This is the one area where the consumer needs information about the breeding facility of the specific animal they are thinking of purchasing.

Currently APHIS makes some of its inspection data available through a search interface. The details of the inspection are an image based PDF that cannot be machine read and offers no help to the consumer at the point of purchase where the actual licensee can be ascertained. The data exposed by this search tool also provides PII in the form of the licensee's full physical address and name.

Currently this data, with the exception of [Inspectors Details of Non-Compliance] is available through the search interface. The inclusion of the inspector details will help consimers determine a relatively minor non-compliance issue with a more serious issue. As an example a violatin of section 3.11(a) "CLEANING, SANITIZATION, HOUSEKEEPING, AND PEST CONTROL." could be as simple a matter as a great number of flies which is not terribly uncommon in a farming area. Or it could mean that the animals are in filthy conditions with pests literally living on them. [Inspectors Details of Non-Compliance] can help the consumer make this determination.

**How Will This Project Have Impact? **

Consumers will have unbiased information to make an informed decision AT THE POINT OF PURCHASE. Animal breeders who operate within the guidelines of the Animal Welfare Act can point to the information delivered as proof of their adherence to these guidelines and good treatment of their animals. Ideally pet stores would make this search available, almost like a badge of honor, for their patrons to separate themselves from the handful of bad apples who choose to purchase animals from non-compliant sources. With widespread use the community of providers and consumers can self-regulate and hopefully this will motivate non-compliant licensees to fix their issues quickly and reduce the workload of APHIS inspectors who currently have to visit non-compliant facilities many times. This data can help the industry self-regulate.

People make good choices when they have good information. If you go to a taco stand and the food isn't fresh, fast and easily digested you don't go back. The same is true for the delivery of data. If the USDA improves the delivery of their data, protects the privacy of the licensee and comes into conformance with Federal law by providing their data in a ready to consume format, it could take a great deal of pressure off inspectors, pet providers and help put an end to the needless suffering of animals.

What Happens Next?

I have almost completed the construction of the database and the queries to pull the data . The front end is a simple interface that returns a result set which can be drilled into for more details. This is still being worked on and not complete.

In addition the USDA must be willing to provide this data in a way that is easily maintained. It has to be reliable and timely in order for it to be responsible and impartial. A non-compliant report on Thursday that is corrected on Friday but not available for a week or a month unfairly penalizes a provider and I want to avoid this where ever possible.

It affects every community. It affects breeders, transporters, researchers, zoological organizations, animal shelters, and APHIS Inspectors. It also impacts the lives of the animals that are protected under the AWA.

How might this project or story create value for Individuals

This project will make it possible for a consumer to make an informed decision, easily and with confidence that what they are reading hasn't been tainted by a particular agenda. It displays the good records of good licensees and the bad records of bad licensees. The value is they have it where it's needed most...at the point of purchase.

How does this project or story show the value of collaboration between Communities and/or Corporations and/or Governments? Firstly, it shows the great efforts of the USDA inspectors to enforce the AWA by putting that data into the hands of the public when and where it matters most ... when a decision to pay is being made. I see this app being used by breeders, sellers and rescuers alike.