Dr. Ron DeHaven, former Deputy Administrator For Animal Care, has been promoted within the USDA to Acting Associate Administrator for Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS). Dr. DeHaven served in his role as deputy administrator for five years and spent 12 years in animal care.
“It has been an interesting and even fun five years,” said Dr. Haven. “This was certainly a tumultuous period in horse protection, but we accomplished a lot. I am particularly pleased with the three year Operating Plan. It provides a mechanism for the industry to continue to function but to still provide for good oversight of the inspection process. No, it’s not perfect, but nothing like this ever is. It will take a lot of work and ongoing effort from both sides, but the framework is there if we all work together.”
“My biggest concern, particularly when you review the statistics from the last two years, is that we need continued work on narrowing the difference in the number of DQP violations which are written when the VMOs are present and when they are not. I think we need to work hard in the coming years to minimize that gap,” explained DeHaven.
DeHaven will now be second in command at APHIS to Bobby Acord, Acting Administrator for APHIS. APHIS is an agency of approximately 6000 employees who work in five program units. Animal Care is one of those program units. In addition to overseeing the unit of animal care, Dr. DeHaven will be overseeing the other units of APHIS, which address issues of animal and plant disease, eradication of disease, safeguarding imports and exports, and many other responsibilities including dealing with keeping foot and mouth disease out of the United States.
The new Acting Deputy Administrator for Animal Care is Chester Gipson, who was the former Associate Deputy Administrator for Veterinary Services. Gipson does have experience in horse protection related to the time when enforcement of the Horse Protection Act fell under the Veterinary Services’ responsibility.