The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently disclosed that it never received mandatory annual reports about research animals' "pain and distress" from 81 animal research facilities over the course of five years. The revelation was triggered by a lawsuit filed by The Humane Society of the United States against the USDA seeking agency records concerning pain and distress in animal research.
"American taxpayers have a right to know what is going on in research labs around the country," said Kathleen Conlee, director of program management for animal research issues for The HSUS. "Animal research facilities are legally required under the Animal Welfare Act to file annual reports with the USDA, and they should be held accountable when they fail to do so."
Each research facility that uses animals must submit a report each year under the AWA. USDA has now disclosed that 125 reports were never submitted between 1999 and 2004 (some institutions failed to file reports for multiple years).
Congress mandated the annual submission of these reports to the USDA in order to aid the agency in its enforcement of the AWA. The reports contain critical information on the number and species of animals used for research by more than 1,200 institutions conducting animal experiments, the corresponding pain and distress categories of the research conducted, and explanations as to why pain and distress relief were withheld, if applicable. The issue of missing reports also raises questions regarding the accuracy of the animal research statistics compiled by the USDA each year, and whether the agency is adequately enforcing the Act.
The list of the 81 animal research facilities that failed to provide annual "pain and distress" reports can be found here. The lawsuit is pending in Federal District Court in Washington, DC. The HSUS is represented by the public interest law firm of Meyer, Glitzenstein & Crystal.
The HSUS is calling on Congress to pass the Animal Welfare Accountability Improvement Act, H.R. 2193, introduced by U.S. Reps. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.). The bill would direct the USDA to submit an annual report to Congress regarding enforcement activities of research institutions and other entities regulated under the AWA, increase maximum penalties for animal research facilities that violate the AWA from $2,500 to $10,000 per violation (as recommended by the USDA's Office of the Inspector General in its 2005 Animal Welfare Enforcement audit report), and prohibit the use of live animals in sales and marketing demonstrations of medical devices. This legislation was passed by the House of Representatives in its Farm Bill.
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