USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Strategic Plan - Fiscal Years 2023-2027

2023-2027 Strategic Plan and helped us identify actions we can take now to prepare for the future. You’ll find that information in the boxes labeled “Preparing for Our Future.” In the coming years, this plan will guide our work and help us meet the needs of our stakeholders, our customers, and the American public. Over the next 5 years, we will monitor and measure progress towards our plan goals and objectives. APHIS’ strength is our people. Time and again—when faced with tremendous challenges—the APHIS workforce has used its scientific expertise, business acumen, and policy knowledge to find a solution. As we look ahead and strive to be a global leader in agricultural health, we will continue to cultivate a talented, diverse, and public service-focused workforce where employees are supported, valued, and engaged. The best way to honor our past is to continue looking towards our future. With that in mind, I am pleased to present our Strategic Plan for fiscal years (FY) 2023–2027. Sincerely, Kevin Shea, Administrator Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service U.S. Department of Agriculture Healthy Plants, Healthy Animals, Healthy People Mission Protecting the health, welfare, and value of our Nation’s plants, animals, and natural resources. Core Values • Integrity and Trust • Accountability • Public Service • Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Accessibility • Collaboration and Teamwork • Commitment • Innovation and Creativity

4 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Vision A global leader that uses innovative and proven solutions to ensure the health of plants, animals, the environment, and people. Photo: Adobe Stock Stakeholders We consult with and engage a wide range of stakeholders to ensure our strategies and programs are effective. Our stakeholders include people whose activities we regulate, such as animal and plant importers and exporters, livestock producers, growers, biotechnology developers, trading partners, scientists and researchers, and those who are subject to Animal Welfare Act and Horse Protection Act requirements. They are State officials, Tribal partners, government regulators, and cooperators who help us carry out our mission. They are people and organizations dealing with wildlife conflicts, travelers, and members of the public who are seeking services or information from us. Fiscal Years 2023–2027 Strategic Plan 5 Future Trends 2 The United States—including the agriculture community—has faced many changes over the past 50 years. The world is constantly transforming, and as Climate change threats a result, we expect to face more changes continue to mount and over the next 20 to 30 years. Uncertainties expand in scope, intensity, are expected, as is the accelerating pace and variety. of change. To better prepare for the future and these uncertainties, APHIS has incorporated strategic foresight into its strategic planning process. APHIS scanned the literature, revisited past conversations with stakeholders, and leaned on program 3 expertise to identify and analyze trends. Ten trends, with the greatest potential to impact the Agency, are featured here in the strategic plan. These trends have influenced the plan’s goals and Political, geographical, and economic division objectives. They were also considered continues in the country, in the development of tactics so that we decreasing trust in can better prepare in the next 5 years to government programs. meet these future challenges. 1 4 Data analytics Security threats increasingly support decision and are on the rise and risk policy making as a result of mitigation measures across big data availability, ongoing all environments will increase requirements, and expectations and frequently change. around accessible evidence.

6 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 5 8 Scientific and Global health threats technological advances are increasing, with greater and provide new opportunities more frequent impacts, requiring and challenges. coordinated response from public and private entities. 6 9 Globalization Stakeholder networks is escalating demands for the and cooperators enforcement of phytosanitary and are shifting because of changing zoosanitary standards, causing production practices and new unintended consequences, such opportunities and risks. as supply chain disruptions. 7 10 Perceptions of animal Changing workforce welfare and wildlife needs flexible skillsets to are evolving, increasing pressure quickly adapt; employees must on related government activities. continually acquire new skills throughout their career. Fiscal Years 2023–2027 Strategic Plan 7 Strategic Goal 1 Protect agriculture from plant and animal diseases and pests

8 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service disease to minimize its impact on Objective 2: Manage plant the economy. and animal diseases and pests established in the APHIS will continue to ensure the country availability, safety, purity, potency, and effectiveness of veterinary ƒ Analyze outbreak data to develop biologics and provide oversight of the most effective methods genetically engineered organisms. for preventing and mitigating We will continue to conduct future outbreaks, complete risk diagnostic laboratory activities and analyses to improve control and provide technology development eradication efforts, and advance Adobe Stock to support plant protection innovative solutions to control programs. The Agency will continue and eradicate diseases American agriculture faces many to investigate alleged violations of threats, including foreign and APHIS-administered laws and issue ƒ Utilize program review and pest domestic diseases and pests, enforcement actions. risk analysis to clarify strategy biological events resulting from and improve the effectiveness of emerging infectious disease threats, Below are examples of tactics for the Phytophthora ramorum risks associated with biotechnology, achieving the objectives under this program and threats of terror posed by strategic goal. ƒ Expand the use of performance groups seeking to use biological measures, risk-based approaches, weapons. These diseases, pests, and Objective 1: Prevent plant and analyses to create a more biological events have the potential and animal diseases and integrated and strategic national to impact agricultural production, pests from entering the surveillance approach for plants trade, and the economy. country ƒ Continue conducting field-level To protect agriculture, it is critical ƒ Perform enhanced, robust surveillance for animal diseases to identify threats early so APHIS inspection of people and things and plant pests and diseases of can take the necessary actions to entering the United States that concern prevent entry and avoid prolonged pose a disease or pest threat damage. Our focus is to ensure that ƒ Provide support for surveillance, Objective 3: Ensure all Americans have consistent access effective emergency control, and containment of to safe, nutritious, and affordable preparedness and response African swine fever (ASF) in the food. Because these threats are Caribbean and prepare for a ever-changing, APHIS must adjust ƒ Develop an adequate number of potential domestic incursion its strategies for identifying diseases highly trained core responders and pests and applying appropriate ƒ Develop, maintain, and improve mitigation measures. ƒ Coordinate, deliver, and commodity or disease surveillance document National Incident plans, ensuring the plans include By working collaboratively with Management System and units across APHIS and State and Federal, State, and Tribal partners Incident Command System train- Federal partners, as appropriate and stakeholders, APHIS can rapidly ing for APHIS Incident Manage- respond to an agricultural disease or ƒ Focus investigative and enforce- ment Teams and volunteers pest outbreak. APHIS actively engages ment resources on the most serious ƒ Develop and bring to production other Federal, State, and local govern- violations that pose the greatest risk more depopulation and disposal ments; Tribal Nations; and industry to to American agriculture options advance their emergency prepared- ness and response capabilities. ƒ Manage diseases and pests ƒ Provide enhanced learning If a pest or disease is established established in other countries by opportunities to ensure emergency in the country, APHIS works with working with our foreign counter- responders can quickly assess risks its partners and stakeholders to parts and local communities and opportunities in emergency eradicate or manage the pest or within these countries situations and integrate emergency Fiscal Years 2023–2027 Strategic Plan 9 response efforts into business ƒ Provide guidance and instruc- holders understand regulations services delivery tions to regulated industry to through outreach, workshops, enhance communication and toolkits, and other means ƒ Improve communication with relationship building stakeholders and trading partners ƒ Work with the Environmental during disease and pest outbreaks ƒ Expand use of alternative inspec- Protection Agency and the U.S. and proactively engage Tribes tion processes, as well as onsite Food and Drug Administration inspections to increase coordination and ƒ Engage government and industry harmonization of regulatory partners in preparedness exercises ƒ Conduct public outreach on how oversight for biotechnology testing and assurance of safety, products within each agency’s ƒ Improve employee understanding purity, potency, and effectiveness and implementation of the APHIS existing statutory framework of veterinary biologics contributes Emergency Mobilization Guide and to animal health and food safety, the Mandatory Mobilization Plan Objective 6: Ensure and how testing and assurance timely and accurate are performed to maximize safety ƒ Improve the country’s ability to diagnostic and other recover after animal and plant Objective 5: Ensure laboratory support health incidents and outbreaks and services the development ƒ Provide leadership in collaboration of safe agricultural ƒ Emphasize the practice of with Federal, State, local, Tribal, biotechnology products scientific discovery and method and Territorial agencies for creating using a science-based improvement with collabora- comprehensive wildlife disease regulatory framework tions, developmental projects, surveillance and emergency and scholarships response capabilities and capacity ƒ Implement the VS Laboratory ƒ Partner with local and urban Approval Guidance to deliver farmers to teach them how to an effective and clear approval recognize and mitigate plant process pests; partner with citizen scientists, non-profit organizations, ƒ Support both national and inter- and non-government organiza- national laboratory networks by tions to find invasive pests performing reference laboratory duties and partnering with them ƒ Continue to ensure personnel in animal and plant diagnostics are highly trained in areas of animal diseases, plant pests Adobe Stock ƒ Expand the use of molecular and diseases, and all-hazard diagnostics to support plant response and develop more ƒ Conduct efficient risk-based health personnel capacity to address permit review and issuance for emergency tour-of-duty organisms developed using response requests genetic engineering to ensure they are safely contained or Objective 4: Ensure confined during movement or release the availability, safety, purity, potency, and ƒ Use plain language to clearly effectiveness of communicate APHIS regulations, veterinary biologics expectations, and guidance to stakeholders, particularly those ƒ Improve transparency in the working with modified non-plant licensure process with the public organisms potentially subject to and industry APHIS regulations; help stake-

10 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Preparing for Our Future Below are examples of actions we will take now and in the near future to prepare for the challenges and opportunities presented by the future trends: ƒ Develop and implement a plan to monitor, maintain, and update medical clearance information to ensure adequate personnel are available for emergency responses (Trend 1) ƒ Coordinate unified responses to inquiries of assistance regarding biosafety and security, promote information sharing, and develop strategies and policies specific to biosafety and security (Trend 1) ƒ Advance methods development and other solutions to reduce the use of methyl bromide (Trends 1 and 3) ƒ In partnership with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture and the National Plant Board, develop a unified strategy for the spotted lanternfly program and a plan to implement the strategy (Trends 1, 8, and 9) ƒ Expand the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank and leverage the National Veterinary Stockpile to ensure our ability to identify criticalities, collaborate with various partners and the public, and ready our employees to respond to emergency outbreaks (Trends 4, 5, and 9) ƒ Oversee the relocation and stand up of APHIS’ Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory from Plum Island, NY, to the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, KS, to ensure diagnostic efforts are collaborative, advanced, and accurate to address new and emerging threats to animal health (Trend 9) Fiscal Years 2023–2027 Strategic Plan 11 Strategic Goal 2 Cultivate a talented, diverse, and public service- focused workforce where employees are supported, valued, and engaged

12 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Below are examples of tactics for ƒ Launch the Veterinary Services achieving the objectives under this (VS) Career Guide and other strategic goal. programs to empower functional leadership and development Objective 1: Recruit while mentoring employees and new talent providing career field advice ƒ Fully implement the APHIS Objective 3: Improve Recruitment Plan to strategically equity and inclusion recruit new talent ƒ Partner with USDA Mission Areas ƒ Build and strengthen partner- to grow internships and expand ships with universities and employment opportunities to colleges to identify graduates to diverse populations Of the estimated 2.2 million Federal recruit, provide internships, and employees, 43 percent are ages ƒ Expand AgDiscovery by engaging help educate the next generation 50 and older. For APHIS, that alumni to conduct outreach of APHIS employees percentage is slightly higher, at at schools 46 percent. Over the next 5 years, ƒ Offer remote duty designations to APHIS will use recruitment and broaden the pool of candidates ƒ Partner with community organi- knowledge transfer strategies to zations to promote internships transfer institutional knowledge and employment opportunities Objective 2: Empower and and ensure we maintain a to diverse populations engage employees sustainable, diverse workforce as ƒ Provide employees with training workers leave the Agency. APHIS ƒ Establish APHIS-wide and on unconscious bias will implement strategies to retain program-specific employee employees, including investing in engagement strategies developmental opportunities to Objective 4: Deliver build talent from within. ƒ Innovate workforce development outstanding services to provide employees with greater to the public APHIS will provide an environment career opportunities, including where employees are safe, increasing career ladder opportu- supported, valued, and engaged in nities and re-evaluating existing the shared mission and direction ladders for support positions of the Agency. The Agency ƒ Provide training and other learn- will encourage changes that ing opportunities for employees support employee creativity and to acquire new skills throughout innovation, work-life balance, and their careers family-friendly policies to foster employee engagement. ƒ Encourage and support participation in APHIS APHIS will explore ways to reshape leadership training, mentoring, its workforce to better meet the and coaching programs ƒ Modernize and streamline Agency service delivery needs of the ƒ Implement succession planning regulations and issue more American public now and in the for technical positions flexible regulations future. APHIS will continue to look for new ways to deliver our services ƒ Consider non-regulatory ƒ Create opportunities for cross efficiently and effectively, in the face solutions for emerging issues training employees of a new fiscal reality. ƒ Facilitate collaborative relation- ƒ Ensure Agency services are ships with bargaining units efficient, effective, accessible, and equitable to all Fiscal Years 2023–2027 Strategic Plan 13 ƒ Serve as good stewards of public ƒ Increase messaging that focuses ƒ Seek stakeholder feedback on resources, setting goals and prior- on the new work environment, public-facing systems and ities using science and evidence managing risk, building capabil- implement improvements based based decision-making and ities, and identifying best safety on that feedback strategic and foresight planning practices ƒ Build a cybersecurity risk ƒ Protect and promote U.S. ƒ Use current Office of Property management program/system agriculture and natural resources and Environmental Management to capture and manage cyber- by ensuring Agency activities guidance for calculating space security risk across the mission area are environmentally sound and needs in the hybrid environment within acceptable animal welfare and reimagine space use to ƒ Enhance the Customer Service standards maximize information sharing, and Investment Review Boards’ relationship building, and ability to anticipate IT needs and Objective 5: Promote collaboration implement solutions safety and wellness ƒ Use mapping technology for Objective 6: Create remote surveillance of regulated ƒ Identify employee wellness needs, sustainable and cost- activities recalibrate wellness programs for effective IT solutions the hybrid workforce, and identify ƒ Develop IT strategy and infrastruc- work/life flexibilities ƒ Engage business partners ture recommendations, as well as in collaborative investment a roadmap for IT data systems and ƒ Enhance safety training for staff reviews and deliver effective integration and data acquisition in different work settings investment reporting and storage applications Preparing for Our Future Below are examples of actions we will take now and in the near future to prepare for the challenges and opportunities presented by the future trends: ƒ Promote a secure workforce by creating a safety recognition program (Trend 1) ƒ Modernize data management strategies (Trend 4) ƒ Identify and implement technological improvements to enhance remote and hybrid work environments (Trends 5 and 10) ƒ Establish and implement a strategic human capital plan and develop a modernized, structured, and systemic approach to recruitment (Trend 10) ƒ Improve the customer experience, particularly for digital services and IT enter- prise systems (Trend 4)

14 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Adobe Stock Strategic Goal 3 Reduce the impacts of zoonotic and emerging diseases and climate change Fiscal Years 2023–2027 Strategic Plan 15 be required. APHIS will incorporate Objective 2: Strengthen mitigation and management pathway analysis and strategies including predictive targeting of plant and modeling tools into its programs to animal products that pose reduce and adapt to the effects of climate change and build resilience a threat to people, animals, in the Agency for the benefit of and the environment our employees, partners, and ƒ Strengthen efforts to mitigate stakeholders. risks from imported plant and animal products Below are examples of tactics for achieving the objectives under this ƒ Support developing models of strategic goal. animal and product movement Seventy-five percent of emerging ƒ Increase personnel with special- infectious diseases affecting humans Objective 1: Strengthen ized skill sets to better evaluate are zoonotic, meaning they move prevention, surveillance, trade risks and effective mitigations between animals and people. There monitoring, and response has been a surge in outbreaks of ƒ Use results of pathways analy- zoonotic diseases over the past 2 to emerging and zoonotic ses to identify risk “hotspots” decades. Often, we were unaware of diseases for wildlife disease incursions the potential threat until we started ƒ Implement operational plans and and promote wildlife disease seeing illness and death in people. procedures for zoonotic disease surveillance efforts in susceptible Early detection and response to engagement, investigation, and animal populations zoonotic and emerging diseases response; antimicrobial resis- while still in animals is essential ƒ Lead the Tuberculosis (TB) tance; global health security; and in limiting or preventing human Initiative to solve complex associated outreach and educa- outbreaks. APHIS will strengthen its problems with zoonotic TB tion using a One Health approach ability to prevent, detect, report, and ƒ Implement the National List of respond to emerging and zoonotic ƒ Develop, implement, and coordi- Reportable Animal Diseases diseases. nate One Health activities, strate- gies and policies, and response Working collaboratively with other Objective 3: Mitigate and Federal agencies, APHIS will build ƒ Enhance capacity to detect adapt to the effects of an early warning system to alert zoonotic and emerging diseases climate change public health partners so steps can such as SARS-CoV-2 by increasing surveillance in wildlife and build- ƒ Implement and regularly update be taken sooner to prevent or limit the APHIS Climate Change the next zoonotic disease outbreak. ing diagnostic capacity for testing wildlife samples Adaption Plan, which considers As a result of these efforts, we will challenges related to climate safeguard animal health, prevent ƒ Analyze surveillance data to change and describes actions we disease transmission between improve program effectiveness can take to mitigate its impacts animals and people, and minimize and efficiency potential impacts to the food supply. ƒ Incorporate climate change ƒ Develop methods to increase scenarios when evaluating the At the same time, we recognize that public awareness of how APHIS plant pest risk associated with climate change presents a threat responds to emerging and biotechnology products to our ability to fully achieve our zoonotic diseases mission and advance our strategic ƒ Work with Federal partners goals. We don’t anticipate needing to develop clear, efficient, to modify our regulatory authority; predictable, and risk-based however, we do expect that new regulatory pathways for safely regulations and policies, as well as bringing microbial and other non-regulatory approaches, may new products that help address

16 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service climate change to market, and ƒ Consider climate change when ƒ Maximize support for Executive help developers of such products assessing pest risk pathways Order 14057: Catalyzing Clean navigate our regulatory system and the pest risk of commodities Energy Industries and Jobs presented for market access Through Federal Sustainability ƒ Address increased pest resilience and Executive Order 14008: due to climate change using ƒ Prioritize environmentally friendly Tackling the Climate Crisis at risk-based approaches and mitigations for plant pest and Home and Abroad data analytics disease response ƒ Work with partners on predic- ƒ Implement strategies to respond tive modeling to identify trends to the movement of vectors and future scenarios for pest (organisms, such as insects, that movements and risks based can transmit disease to other on climate change impacts on organisms) from warmer climates, ranges, lifecycles, and habitats addressing the transmission poten- tial for vector-borne disease spread Preparing for Our Future Below are examples of actions we will take now and in the near future to prepare for the challenges and opportunities presented by the future trends: ƒ Invest in novel eradication strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change (Trend 2) ƒ Target pest populations as climate change impacts distribution patterns and behaviors and address increased pest resilience (Trends 2, 4, and 9) ƒ Enhance monitoring and surveillance to identify areas of expanding human- wildlife conflicts resulting from range shifting and expansion, habitat loss, and extreme climate events (Trends 2 and 7) ƒ Build a robust surveillance system to mitigate risks presented by zoonotic diseases, including SARS-CoV-2 and other new or emerging disease (Trend 9) ƒ Identify and prioritize global health threats emerging at the wildlife-domestic animal-human interface and develop monitoring and response capacity (Trend 9) Fiscal Years 2023–2027 Strategic Plan 17 Adobe Stock Strategic Goal 4 Maintain and expand the safe trade of agricultural products nationally and internationally  

18 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service APHIS plays an important role ƒ Conduct plant and animal health ƒ Advance trade harmonization by in facilitating the safe trade of negotiations with other countries suggesting and supporting Inter- agricultural products. We ensure during technical bilateral meetings, national and Regional standard that U.S. farmers and exporters can using science and international setting activities for sea containers, sell their products around the world, standards to resolve trade issues. e-commerce and e-phyto facilitating the movement of more These negotiations result in proto- than $170 billion in U.S. agricultural cols that both countries agree will Objective 3: Create safe goods. The Agency’s efforts include: sufficiently minimize the pest or export opportunities   animal disease risk of an imported ƒ Keeping U.S. agricultural indus- or exported agricultural product. ƒ Develop scientifically-sound risk tries free from pests and diseases, identification and risk analyses for ƒ Monitor trends across many U.S. sanitary and phytosanitary ƒ Certifying that U.S. agricultural platforms, information resources, exports to support trade in safe and food products shipped to and stakeholder inputs to advance animals, plants, and animal plant markets abroad meet the import- APHIS programs and issues products and by-products ing countries’ entry requirements, ƒ Monitor and scan for the ƒ Support development of climate- ƒ Partnering with other countries to emergence of new scientific smart commodities to ensure develop international standards, findings and threats access to international markets ƒ Removing trade barriers by for low-carbon goods and carbon ƒ Establish the Joint Agency Group to monitoring and enforcing capture support the U.S.- Canada Coordi- existing trade agreements, and nated Phytosanitary Mitigation ƒ Communicate to international ƒ Negotiating trade agreements Framework and develop an action stakeholders about APHIS’ that benefit the U.S. agricultural plan to implement the framework processes and share outcomes economy. of biotechnology product ƒ Implement the joint U.S. Customs evaluations APHIS also builds regulatory and Border Protection (CBP)-APHIS capacity in developing countries to Strategic Plan, which will guide ƒ Work with trade agencies on facilitate trade and develop future program activities and set mission technical aspects of trade in markets. Helping other countries priorities over the next 5 years biotechnology products strengthen their capacity allows them Objective 2: Maintain ƒ Work with the regulatory author- to participate in the safe trade of and expand the Agency’s ities of U.S. trading partners to agricultural products. leadership role through further harmonize regulatory frameworks for biotechnology With the growing complexity of the international standard global supply chain network, the products setting and collaboration need to manage risks associated with trade, both import and export, have ƒ Strengthen collaboration with Objective 4: Anticipate never been greater. There is a need other standard-setting organi- and communicate supply for new intervention policies, tools, zations especially the World chain issues to domestic and strategies to mitigate these risks. Organisation of Animal Health and stakeholders and trading the International Plant Protection partners Below are examples of tactics for Convention achieving the objectives under this ƒ Analyze and forecast trade and strategic goal. ƒ Promote engagement, collabora- economic trends related to tion, and harmonization of agricul- agricultural trade activities Objective 1: Facilitate tural biotechnology regulation with safe agricultural trade trading partners, the Organization ƒ Acquire data from and share data through the effective for Economic Cooperation and with international organizations to Development, and other interna- support global agricultural trade management of sanitary and phytosanitary issues tional and regional organizations Fiscal Years 2023–2027 Strategic Plan 19 Preparing for Our Future Below are examples of actions we will take now and in the near future to prepare for the challenges and opportunities presented by the future trends: ƒ Leverage science and technology to deliver healthy agricultural products around the world (Trend 5) ƒ Sustain market access and growth through a trade agenda that is worker- and market-oriented and science- and rules-based (Trends 5 and 8) ƒ Maintain direct contact with foreign quarantine inspectors and local importers and exporters to anticipate and communicate supply chain issues to domestic stakeholders and trading partners (Trend 8) ƒ Expand and diversify export markets (Trend 8)

20 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service ƒ raccoo Strategic Goal 5 Manage wildlife damage and threats to agriculture, natural resources, property, and people   Fiscal Years 2023–2027 Strategic Plan 21 and tools. APHIS also helps protect target these areas for opera- the aviation community across the tional activities and feral swine Nation to reduce wildlife hazards sampling, including expanding to aviation. In 2022, APHIS assisted activities to include feral swine 813 civil and military airports that are currently not accessible worldwide, including about 75 percent of all U.S. commercial Objective 2: Research passenger airports, to reduce or and implement new and avoid wildlife strike hazards to improved tools to enhance protect people and aircraft. In integrated wildlife damage addition, we help natural resource management programs agencies protect threatened and endangered species and public ƒ Implement science-based and APHIS provides expertise to health agencies distribute millions non-lethal (where feasible) resolve conflicts between people of oral rabies vaccine baits to methods and new technology and wildlife. Using an integrated reduce rabies in wildlife and to mitigate wildlife damage and approach, the Agency facilitates prevent disease spread to people, reduce threats posed by diseases coexistence to protect agriculture, livestock, and pets. to agriculture (including livestock natural resources (including and aquaculture), property, threatened and endangered Below are examples of tactics for human health and safety, and species), property and achieving the objectives under this natural resources infrastructure, and public health strategic goal. and safety. In the United States, wildlife is managed based on the Objective 3: Protect Public Trust Doctrine. It is a public Objective 1: Strengthen public health and resource held in trust and managed wildlife disease prevention, safety by managing by the government for present surveillance, and response negative human/wildlife and future generations. Wildlife interactions   Services focuses on science-based ƒ Enhance coordination and collaboration in research and ƒ Expand and improve collabo- wildlife damage management. rative efforts to enhance public This includes protecting resources, management to prevent the spread of key terrestrial rabies safety within the aviation health, and safety from damage community through science- or other problems caused by or variants in wild carnivores while working toward eliminating based assistance by investigating related to the presence of wildlife. methods and addressing wildlife It is an integral part of the wildlife rabies in carnivores in North America hazards that meet continuing management profession and is demands for safe air operations essential to conserving our Nation’s ƒ Enhance coordination and of civil and military partners, the wildlife resources. implement surveillance for avian aviation industry, and the travel- influenza in wild birds in all four ing public Each year, APHIS responds to migratory bird flyways hundreds of thousands of requests from farmers, ranchers, and others ƒ Improve coordination of labora- Objective 4: ​Reduce for help with reducing the impact tory submissions, referrals, and damage from invasive of predators on their animals. The reporting of highly pathogenic species and protect cattle, sheep, and goat industries avian influenza to stakeholders, resources, critical alone report $232 million in industry, and the public habitats, and species livestock losses to predation, of concern annually. APHIS assisted 23,461 ƒ Identify areas at high risk for foreign animal disease intro- ƒ Decrease damage caused by feral livestock producers in protecting duction across the geographic swine to agricultural, livestock, their livestock from predators range of feral swine and develop property, ecological, and human through the use of integrated processes and protocols to best health and safety. Prevent estab- damage management methods lishment of new populations by

22 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service monitoring in areas where they Bay and other critical coastal and ƒ Working with State and are likely to be found but their inland wetland habitats Federal partners to provide presence hasn’t been confirmed Federal leadership to industry, Objective 5: Strengthen organizations and natural ƒ Prevent escape of brown tree and expand partnerships resource agencies for an effective, snakes from Guam and decrease tree snake populations near at the national level   ecologically sound, and socially responsible integrated wildlife military and civilian ports of exit ƒ Increase partnerships with damage management program to safeguard health and human local, State, and Federal entities that is responsive to a changing safety and protect infrastructure and universities to increasingly world and natural resources on neigh- leverage disease surveillance boring islands and the U.S. and research opportunities ƒ Build and expand coalitions mainland associated with existing wildlife of producers, industry, and damage management activities government agencies at ƒ Continue strengthening partner- multiple levels to collabora- ships and providing training ƒ Provide outreach to Federal, tively resolve wildlife conflicts and technical advice to Western State, Tribal, and international negatively impacting livestock Pacific neighbors to improve partners and the public about and agriculture production inspections of aircraft, vessels, APHIS’ role in reducing conflicts and cargo arriving from Guam between people and wildlife, detecting and controlling ƒ Detect and remove invasive wildlife diseases, and protecting nutria to protect the Chesapeake natural resources Preparing for Our Future Below are examples of actions we will take now and in the near future to prepare for the challenges and opportunities presented by the future trends: ƒ Implement an expanded Non-Lethal Initiative Program to include beaver damage management and expand use and recommendations of the integrated management approach to protect agriculture, human safety, and other resources (Trend 1) ƒ Enhance collaborative efforts to identify and address invasive species in island habitats (Trends 1 and 6) ƒ Seek opportunities to conduct opportunistic sampling techniques to better understand changes in pest and animal disease vector home ranges (Trend 4) ƒ Continue to emphasize the development of species-specific methods (Trend 5) ƒ Develop and implement biological and science-based standards to perform disease surveillance rather than rely on pre-existing administrative boundaries (Trend 6) Fiscal Years 2023–2027 Strategic Plan 23 Strategic Goal 6 Promote the welfare of animals

24 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service ƒ Provide outreach and education Objective 3: Assist stake- to promote compliance and best holders with planning and practices preparedness to ensure ƒ Use data-driven decision-making the safety and welfare of and analysis to make effective animals during disasters   use of resources ƒ Provide outreach and education ƒ Move more quickly to confiscate to stakeholders to promote animals at extreme risk, as compliance and best practices authorized ƒ Strengthen partnerships with ƒ Streamline enforcement review industry groups, State, Federal, for critical cases and improve and Tribal entities APHIS ensures the humane AWA enforcement timeliness ƒ Engage with emergency response treatment of animals covered by the partners at the local, State, and ƒ Increase AWA inspections by five Animal Welfare Act (AWA), works to Federal levels to ensure the percent over FY 2022 eliminate soring and promote fair safety and welfare of animals is competition at events covered by ƒ Implement the final rule to considered in exercises, planning the Horse Protection Act (HPA), and establish new regulations and activities, and disaster response provides national leadership on the standards governing the humane operations, inclusive of safety and well-being of pets and handling, care, treatment, and sheltering operations other animals in disasters. Annually, transportation of birds covered APHIS conducts over 10,000 by the AWA including distributing ƒ Use evidence based trend analysis inspections of approximately 8,000 educational literature on the bird to facilitate conversations with licensed or registered facilities and rule partners and potential partners inspects over 1,500 horses at shows to on potential preparedness and and other events. ƒ Increase the usage of the response strategies self-service customer portal to 25 percent through enhanced ƒ Monitor trends and issues with APHIS is amending the AWA marketing, education, and the potential to have significant regulations and developing bird awareness to internal and impact on current and future standards to ensure their humane external stakeholders efforts to ensure animal welfare in care and treatment. These standards emergency response situations would govern humane care, ƒ Strengthen partnerships with treatment, and transportation. State agencies to increase the speed and effectiveness of The following are examples of tactics enforcement actions for achieving the objectives under the strategic goal. Objective 2: Eliminate Objective 1: Ensure soring and promote fair the humane treatment competition at events of animals covered by covered by the HPA the AWA ƒ Support a strong focus on enforcement ƒ Conduct inspections to ensure substantial compliance with ƒ Increase the number of HPA the AWA events attended by 50 percent over FY 2022 ƒ Update and enhance regulations to improve animal welfare ƒ Continue ongoing outreach efforts targeting both competitors and event attendees Fiscal Years 2023–2027 Strategic Plan 25 Preparing for Our Future Below, are examples of the actions we will take right now and in the near future to prepare for the challenges and opportunities presented by the future trends: ƒ Implement contingency planning regulations to minimize negative impacts on animal welfare from a multitude of threats, mitigate potential risks to human health resulting from exposure to zoonotic diseases, and evaluate their effectiveness (Trends 1, 2, and 9) ƒ Promote and advance good animal welfare through enforcing and advancing science-based regulations, outreach, and education (Trends 5 and 7) ƒ Use cutting-edge technology from recent advances in science in conjunction with veterinary evaluations to detect soring in horses (Trends 5 and 7)

26 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at How to File a Program Discrim- ination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. Issued April 2023. All photos from USDA, except where indicated. Fiscal Years 2023–2027 Strategic Plan 27

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