§4909 Petitions

Summary

Anyone can send a written petition to the Secretary at any time asking the Secretary to do one of three things: change import rules (ban, pause, or set limits) for any exotic bird species; add or remove a species from the official list of covered birds; or decide whether a bird-breeding facility counts as a qualifying facility under the rules. Within 90 days of getting a petition, the Secretary must publish in the Federal Register a preliminary decision on whether the petition gives enough information to merit action. If it does, the Secretary must allow public comment and then publish a final decision in the Federal Register no later than 90 days after the comment period ends.