The Animal Welfare Act (Laboratory Animal Welfare Act of 1966, P.L. 89-544) was signed into law in 1966. It is the only Federal law in the United States that regulates the treatment of animals in research, exhibition, transport, and by dealers. Other laws, policies, and guidelines may include additional species coverage or specifications for animal care and use, but all refer to the Animal Welfare Act as the minimum acceptable standard. The Act was amended six times (1970, 1976, 1985, 1990, 2002, 2007) and is enforced by the USDA, APHIS, and Animal Care agency.
The Act is designed to ensure the humane treatment of animals used for experimental and research purposes. It was largely brought about in response to an article in the February 1966, edition of Life Magazine, which detailed egregious abuses and cruelty of dogs by one dealer. The law was then amended in 1970 to include a number of warm-blooded animals intended for use in research. This and later amendments detailed the minimum standards of care and limitations on use of animals in research, training, testing, as well as for breeders and dealers. It also addresses specific concerns such as the shipping of pets on public transportation and dog fighting.
The current version of the Animal Welfare Act also requires that alternatives to the use of animals are considered if painful procedures are proposed, it requires the use of proper anesthetics and analgesics if painful procedures are performed, requires that institutions have an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and an attending veterinarian with laboratory animal experience, and enacts specific rules for the exercise of dogs and the establishment of an environmental enrichment program to promote the psychological well-being of nonhuman primates. The Act specifically excludes "(1) birds, rats of the genus Rattus, and mice of the genus Mus, bred for use in research, (2) horses not used for research purposes, and (3) other farm animals, such as, but not limited to livestock or poultry, used or intended for use as food or fiber, or livestock or poultry intended for use for improving animal nutrition, breeding, management, or production efficiency, or for improving the quality of food or fiber".[1]
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Exclusions
One of the implications of these exclusions is that laboratory rats and mice are not covered under the Animal Welfare Act and therefore not regulated by the USDA. No cold-blooded vertebrates (such as fish or frogs) or invertebrates (such as fruit flies or worms) are covered by the Animal Welfare Act. No animals used for food are covered by the act.[2]
Other guidelines
In addition to the Animal Welfare Act, the USDA has established the Animal Welfare Regulations which provides more detail as to the care and use of regulated animals than the Animal Welfare Act. The USDA has also published the Animal Care Policy Manual, which provides actual guidance to breeders, research facilities and other institutions that are regulated by the Animal Welfare Act and Animal Welfare Regulations.
Proposed additions
Animal welfare has become more controversial in recent years as certain animal protection groups have argued for more extensive legal protections for animals. The debate over the meaning of animal welfare revolves around the most appropriate methods for taking care of animals, including farm animals. Legislation has been proposed (but not enacted) in recent years that would intervene in animal production operations by regulating confinement facilities; determining the diets of veal calves; specifying how poultry must be slaughtered; and prohibiting dealers from handling non-ambulatory (downer) livestock unless they are humanely killed.[3]
References
- ^ (Section 2132 (g)
- ^ Singer, Peter (2006). In Defense of Animals. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 176. ISBN 1-4051-1941-1.
- ^ (7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.).
External links
- Animal Welfare Act and Animal Welfare Regulations from the United States Department of Agriculture
- Biosecurity New Zealand - guide to the New Zealand Animal Welfare Act
- Animal Welfare Act 2006 of the UK
- Animal health and welfare from DEFRA
- awic.nal.usda.gov
- grants.nih.gov
Further Reading
- Irvine, Leslie. 2009. Filling the Ark: Animal Welfare in Disasters. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-59213-834-0
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