Kevin Shea is an American administrator who served as the acting

United States secretary of agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments. The department includes several organi ...

from January to February 2021. A career civil servant, he has served as the Administrator of the

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) based in Riverdale, Maryland responsible for protecting animal health, animal welfare, and plant health. APHIS is the lead ...

(APHIS), a division of the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

, since June 18, 2013. As administrator, Shea oversees the USDA agency responsible for protecting the health of U.S. animal and plant agriculture, enforcing the Federal Animal Welfare Act, and regulating the field testing of genetically engineered crops, among other responsibilities. On the animal welfare front, Shea's agency has filed legal complaints against tiger owners violating the

Animal Welfare Act of 1966 The Animal Welfare Act (Laboratory Animal Welfare Act of 1966, ) was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 24, 1966. It is the main federal law in the United States that regulates the treatment of animals in research and exhibi ...

, including one in July 2016 against Tim Stark and Wildlife in Need; and again in August 2020, against Jeff Lowe, the former business partner of

Joe Exotic Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage (né Schreibvogel; born March 5, 1963), known professionally as Joe Exotic and nicknamed "The Tiger King," is an American media personality, businessman, and convicted felon who operated the Greater Wynnewood Exot ...

, regarding the alleged mistreatment of his tiger cubs. The latter case resulted in a federal judge, John F. Heil III, requiring the surrender of all tiger cubs in mid-January 2021. APHIS is also, notably, the agency responsible for keeping foreign animal and plant pests and diseases from entering the United States and works with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to carry out that mission. Shea is a graduate of

DeMatha Catholic High School DeMatha Catholic High School is a four-year Catholic high school for boys located in Hyattsville, Maryland, United States. Named after John of Matha, DeMatha is under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and is a member of the Washington Ca ...

; the

University of Maryland in College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the Flagship un ...

; and the

University of Baltimore School of Law The University of Baltimore School of Law, or the UB School of Law, is one of the four colleges that make up the University of Baltimore, which is part of the University System of Maryland. The UBalt School of Law is one of only two law schools i ...

, summa cum laude. He has worked at the Department of Agriculture since 1978. A decorated employee, Shea has received

Presidential Rank Awards The Presidential Rank Awards program is an individual award program granted by the United States government to career Senior Executive Service (SES) members and Senior Career Employees within the OPM-allocated Senior-Level (SL) or Scientific-Profes ...

for Distinguished Service (2012) and Meritorious Service (2009) from President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

, and Distinguished Service (2004) from President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

References

External links

* Biden administration cabinet members Living people United States Department of Agriculture officials Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-gov-bio-stub