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| iStockphoto |
| Pets and animals in labs would benefit from the Farm Bill Amendment |
On July 26, 2007, the United States House of Representatives passed an amendment to the Farm Bill that would strengthen federal protections for pets and animals used in laboratories. The amendment—proposed by Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.)—would prevent stolen pets from being sold into research, end the use of live animals in medical device sales demonstrations, and increase fines for violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act.
The Farm Bill amendment combined two bills which were already introduced in the House. The Pet Safety and Protection Act (H.R. 1280), introduced by Rep. Doyle and Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.), seeks to end the sale of random source dogs and cats to research through the hands of Class B dealers. The Animal Welfare Accountability Improvement Act (H.R. 2193), introduced by Rep. Israel and Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), bars the use of live animals in sales demonstrations of medical devices and increases fines for AWA violations.
Two high-profile cases have recently brought attention to these important issues. In January, an individual at the Cleveland Clinic, a medical center in Ohio, induced a brain aneurysm in a healthy dog as part of a frivolous demonstration of a medical device to the manufacturer's sales team. The dog was killed at the end of the sales demonstration. The Clinic was credited with barring the physician from conducting animal research for two years for procedural violations of the Animal Welfare Act, but this law does not prohibit the use of live animals in sales demonstrations.
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| Last Chance for Animals |
| Dog rescued from Class B facility |
In 2005, an HBO documentary, "Dealing Dogs," exposed the atrocious conditions that befell the dogs and cats who ended up at Martin Creek Kennels, the holding facility for Class B dealer C.C. Baird. The documentary also revealed the fraudulent means that Baird used to obtain many of the animals.
Documented cases over the past 40 years have shown the abuse, neglect and plethora of animal welfare violations that can occur at Class B facilities holding random source dogs and cats. However, many dealers committing violations of the Animal Welfare Act violations have not lost their licenses or faced serious sanctions.
According to the current language of the Animal Welfare Act, the maximum fine for a research institution that commits an AWA violation is $2,500; however, the USDA, has partially adjusted this for inflation and currently uses $3750 as the maximum fine. This amount is just a slap on the wrist for the large and often wealthy facilities that commit these violations. Increasing the maximum fine for violations would make research institutions more accountable for their actions and encourage higher responsibility for the treatment of animals in their care. The portion of the amendment to the Farm bill representing Rep. Israel's bill would increase the maximum allotted fine to $10,000 and would require the calculation of fines be based on the number of animals affected per violation (when relevant). Both changes were recommended in an earlier report by the USDA's own Inspector General.
"Animals in research must be treated humanely, not used frivolously, and must not be obtained from disreputable sources," said Wayne Pacelle, HSUS president and CEO. "This action by the Congress clamps down on the few unscrupulous animal dealers who steal or procure family pets for research, and will put a stop to a demonstration procedure that the vast majority of people in the biomedical research community consider unethical."
The HSUS applauds the House’s action to increase protection for pets and laboratory animals. The Farm Bill will next be considered U.S. Senate. We are optimistic that this will be enacted as part of the final Farm Bill. If signed by the President, the bill would become law.
