Hoctor v. United States Department of Agriculture
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
82 F.3d 165 (7th Cir. 1996)
Under the Animal Welfare Act, the Department of Agriculture had, through notice-and-comment rulemaking, adopted a general "structural strength" regulation requiring animal enclosures to be sturdy enough to protect and contain the animals. Big-cat dealer Hoctor (plaintiff) housed his lions, tigers, and other big cats behind a six-foot perimeter fence, but the Department later issued an internal memorandum - without new notice-and-comment rulemaking - specifying that big-cat perimeter fences must be eight feet high, and cited Hoctor for violating that internal standard.
Whether an agency rule making a reasonable choice among methods of implementing a statute or regulation is a mere interpretive rule exempt from notice-and-comment rulemaking, or a legislative rule requiring it.