releases: https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/news-releases/continuing-push-to-pull-a-rabbit-out-of-a-hat-for-missouri-small-business-owners_mccaskill-urges-commonsense-exemption-for-animal-handlers
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
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| https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/news-releases/continuing-push-to-pull-a-rabbit-out-of-a-hat-for-missouri-small-business-owners_mccaskill-urges-commonsense-exemption-for-animal-handlers | Continuing Push to Pull a Rabbit Out of a Hat for Missouri Small Business Owners, McCaskill Urges Commonsense Exemption for Animal Handlers | 2017-11-28 | 2017 | 2017-11 | Democrat | House | MO | Claire McCaskill | M001170 | www.mccaskill.senate.gov | legacy | Continuing Push to Pull a Rabbit Out of a Hat for Missouri Small Business Owners, McCaskill Urges Commonsense Exemption for Animal Handlers Senator asks for Department of Agriculture exemption to rule requiring small scale animal exhibitors—including magicians with rabbits—to have license from the federal government and government-approved disaster plan Tuesday, November 28, 2017 WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill is continuing to tell federal regulators to hop on a commonsense fix for Missouri small business owners facing unnecessary regulations from a requirement that animal handlers—including magicians with a small number of rabbits—must have a federal government license and a government-approved plan for those animals. Watch a short video on The Act of the Disappearing Regulation. “This is a prime example of burdensome federal regulation that lacks basic common sense,” McCaskill wrote to the Department of Agriculture’s undersecretary in charge of regulation. “…The idea that any magician who keeps a limited number of rabbits or other common animals at home needs federal government licenses to do so flies in the face of common sense and can serve only to alienate well-meaning citizens from the many important roles and functions of the federal government. Therefore I urge you to finalize a rule to clearly exempt these operations that have no business being regulated by the USDA.” Earlier this year, McCaskill also asked Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue for a “commonsense” exemption to the rule, highlighting the absurdity of a government requirement that a magician must have a license and federally-approved emergency plan for a rabbit that is part of a magic show. McCaskill also urged the same action last year from former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. McCaskill’s letters have highlighted that the 2014 Farm Bill—which she helped pass into law after inaction from U.S. House Republicans—“[recognizes] the ridiculousness of the situation” by providing an exemption for these magicians which would no longer require them to develop and submit a comprehensive disaster plan to cover the care of a rabbit under the Animal Welfare Act. After a more than two-year delay, the Agriculture Department has yet to finalize this exemption. McCaskill’s letter also urges the lifting of the USDA’s import ban on Mexican sheep – a request she heard from several Missouri farmers at her town hall forums across the state this summer. McCaskill is a longtime advocate for eliminating waste and duplication in government—working to eliminate a redundant pesticide approvals process for Missouri’s farmers and ranchers, and passing provisions of the Federal Permitting Improvement Act, along with Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, that streamlines and speeds up the federal permitting process for the largest and most complex projects, which were laden with an uncoordinated federal review process. Full text of the letter HERE. Visit mccaskill.senate.gov/jobs to learn more about McCaskill’s fight to boost job opportunities for Missouri. ### Print Email Tweet | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |