The Animal Welfare Act was signed into law in
1966. While its original intent was to regulate the care and use of
animals in the laboratory, it has become 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 four times (1970, 1976, 1985, 1990) and can be found in United States Code, Title 7, Sections 2131 to 2156.
The Act is enforced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Animal Care (AC). AC develops
regulations that interpret the Act with each amendment. Proposed rules
are published in the Federal Regist er and open for public comment.
Comments can be presented at public hearings, sent via mail, fax, or
email. After comments are analyzed, AC develops final rules which are
also published in the Federal Register. The final rules include a
description of the public comments and the Department's response to them
followed by how the new rules will appear as regulations.
The regulations for the Animal Welfare Act are really the manual for
complying with the Act. Each year they are published in Code of
Federal Regulations, Title 9, Chapter 1, Subchapter A - Animal
Welfare which is popularly known as 9CFR. The regulations are
divided into 4 sections: Definitions, Regulations, Standards, and Rules of
Practice Governing Proceedings Under the Animal Welfare Act. The
Definitions section describes exactly what is meant by terms used in the
legislation. This
section is very important as the legal definitions include exemptions
which may differ from how the word is commonly used. For example, the
term "Animal", includes specific species in some, but not all, situations
and specifically excludes rats of the genus Rattus and mice of
the genus Mus as well as birds used in research. The Regulations
section includes subparts for licensing, registration, research
facilities, attending veterinarians and adequate veterinary care, stolen
animals, records, compliance with standards and holding periods, and
miscellaneous topics such as confiscation and destruction of animals and
access and inspection of records and property. Most of the subchapter is
the third section which provides standards for specific species or groups
of species. Included are sections for cats and dogs, guinea pigs and
hamsters, rabbits, nonhuman primates, marine mammals, and the general
category of "other warm-blooded animals". Standards include those for
facilities and operations, health and husbandry systems, and
transportation. The final section sets forth the Rules of Practice
applicable to adjudicating administrative proceedings under Section 19 of
the Animal Welfare Act.
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Questions:
It is important to note that the answers to the questions are mostly
excerpts from the regulations. The complete regulations are updated
annually and can be found on the APHIS/AC website at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/publications.html
Who is the Attending Veterinarian and what are his/her roles at the institution?
Who is the Institutional Official and what are his/her responsibilities?
What are the responsibilities of the Primary Investigator (PI)?
What are the responsibilities of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committe (IACUC) such as who serves, animal protocol review, and reporting?
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Programs:
What is an adequate veterinary care program at the research facility?
What are the responsibilities of the Primary Investigator and Attending Veterinarian to minimize pain and distress to animals before, during, and after operative procedures such as surgery?
What are the qualifications and training required for research facility personnel?
What are the facility responsibilities to visiting APHIS officials?
How is field research, studies done on free-living animals in their natural habitat, regulated?
What reports, notifications, certifications, and record keeping is required of research facilities?
What reports, notifications, certifications, and record keeping is required of animal dealers and exhibitors?
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Animals:
How should dogs and cats be housed?
How should nonhuman primates be housed?
What are the requirements for environmental enhancement and psychological well-being of nonhuman primates?
What is the requirement for exercise in dogs?
What are the primary enclosure requirements for dogs and cats, guinea pigs and hamsters, rabbits, and nonhuman primates?
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Return to:
Animal Welfare Information Center
National Agricultural Library
The Animal Welfare Information Center, awic@nal.usda.gov
http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/legislat/regsqa.htm, January 14, 2000
