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| iStockphoto |
| 20-25 million animals are used per year in research |
Legislation introduced earlier this week would prohibit the use of live animals in sales and marketing demonstrations of medical devices and products.
United States Representatives Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) introduced the Animal Welfare Accountability Improvement Act, which would amend the Animal Welfare Act. The amendment was prompted by an incident at the Cleveland Clinic last winter, when a doctor created a brain aneurysm in an anesthetized dog to demonstrate a medical device to a group of salespeople.
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Why it Matters |
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 The Cleveland demonstration is a sad example of how under today's law, animals are allowed to suffer and even die for a mere sales demonstration.
If the Animal Welfare Act is amended, the use and/or killing of live animals for the sake of sales will not be allowed.
Animal research facilities will be held more accountable for their violations of the AWA. Maximum penalties will increase from only $2500 to $10,000.The U.S. Department of Agriculture will report to Congress annually regarding their enforcement activities—this increases the agency’s accountability.
The sales demonstration in Cleveland was not an isolated incident. The University of Colorado has reportedly ended live sales demonstrations at its Health Sciences Center. 18 dogs and 191 pigs were killed during these demonstrations alone. |
During the demonstration to about two dozen people, the dog, who was under anesthesia, was operated on and then repeatedly manipulated by a group of non-medically trained salespeople in attendance, according to reports. At the conclusion, the dog was killed.
The Cleveland Clinic is credited with taking swift action in the case—conducting an internal investigation, taking disciplinary measures against the doctor, and notifying the U.S. Department of Agriculture. However, The Humane Society of the United States believes there should be a national policy prohibiting such conduct, and the matter should not be left to each institution to settle.
The Animal Welfare Accountability Improvement Act, H.R. 2193, increases maximum penalties for animal research facilities that violate the AWA from $2,500 to $10,000, as recommended by the USDA's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) in its 2005 Animal Welfare Enforcement audit report. The bill further specifies that penalties shall be calculated based on the number of animals affected per violation when relevant, also recommended by the OIG.
Additionally, the bill calls for the USDA, the federal agency that oversees laboratory animals covered under the AWA, to submit an annual report to Congress regarding enforcement activities of research institutions and other entities regulated under the AWA. A 1995 law eliminated the requirement for USDA to submit such annual reports, and the agency hasn't provided one to Congress since 2001.
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| The HSUS |
| Pigs, like dogs, are used in sales demonstrations that usually end in death |
"Polls have shown time and again that Americans care about the welfare of animals used in medical research and that they expect standards of care to be in place to limit their suffering," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS.
Facts:
- An estimated 20 million to 25 million animals are used each year in research in the United States. Tens of millions more are bred and subsequently euthanized. Approximately 1 million of these animals used for research at an estimated 1,275 institutions are protected by the Animal Welfare Act, which is enforced by the USDA.
- The exact number of animals used for sales demonstrations per year is unknown; however, since the Cleveland Clinic incident, information regarding the use of live animals by companies to sell their devices and products is being increasingly uncovered.
Timeline:
- 2007: A brain aneurysm was induced in a dog by a doctor at the Cleveland Clinic for the sole purpose of demonstrating the device to sales representatives.
- 2002: Congress exempted laboratory-bred mice, rats, and birds used for research from protections under the AWA.
- 2001: The most recent year during which USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service submitted an annual report of their enforcement activities to Congress.
- 1981: A Connecticut newspaper exposed The United States Surgical Corporation for killing thousands of dogs a year to train surgical staples salespeople. The company stopped the practice after intense pressure from the public and animal protection groups.
- 1970: The AWA was, with certain exceptions, expanded to cover all warm-blooded animals in research as well as to cover animals in circuses, zoos, roadside shows and commercial breeding operations.
- 1966: After The HSUS helped expose horrid conditions at a facility that sold random source dogs to research facilities, the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act, renamed the Animal Welfare Act in 1970, was enacted. It covers the care and handling of certain mammals at licensed research institutions and animal dealer facilities.
