Animal Welfare Act of 1966
The Animal Welfare Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 24, 1966. It is the main federal law in the United States that regulates the treatment of animals in research and exhibition. 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 minimally acceptable standard for animal treatment and care. The USDA and APHIS oversee the AWA and the House and Senate Agriculture Committees have primary legislative jurisdiction over the Act. Animals covered under this Act include any live or dead cat, dog, hamster, rabbit, nonhuman primate, guinea pig, and any other warm-blooded animal determined by the Secretary of Agriculture for research, pet use or exhibition. Excluded from the Act are birds, rats of the genus Rattus, mice of the genus Mus, farm animals, and all cold-blooded animals.
As enacted in 1966, the AWA required all animal dealers to be registered and licensed as well as liable to monitoring by Federal regulators and suspension of their license if they violate any provisions of the Animal Welfare Act and imprisonment of up to a year accompanied by a fine of $1,000. As of the 1985 AWA amendment, all research facilities covered by the Animal Welfare Act have been required to establish a specialized committee that includes at least one person trained as a veterinarian and one not affiliated with the facility. Such committees regularly assess animal care, treatment, and practices during research, and are required to inspect all animal study areas at least once every six months. The committees are also required to ensure that alternatives to animal use in experimentation would be used whenever possible.
History
Worldwide, the first law to regulate animal experimentation was Cruelty to Animals Act 1876, passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It established a central governing body that reviewed and approved all animal use in research. After that, numerous countries in Europe adopted regulations regarding research with animals.Although Congress discussed laboratory animal welfare in the early 1960s, there was not enough interest to pass legislation until articles published by Sports Illustrated and Life in 1965 and 1966, respectively, generated a public outcry.
The first article, written by Coles Phinizy, appeared in the November 29, 1965, issue of Sports Illustrated. The piece detailed the story of Pepper the Dalmatian, a dog that disappeared from the yard of the in Pennsylvania. It was later discovered that Pepper had been stolen by "dog-nappers", was bought by a Bronx hospital, and had died during an experimental surgical procedure. On July 9, 1965, Representative Joseph Y. Resnick introduced H.R. 9743 into the House of Representatives, a bill that would require dog and cat dealers, as well as the laboratories that purchased the animals to be licensed and inspected by the USDA. A hearing was held on September 30, 1965, and similar legislation was sponsored in the Senate. The Animal Welfare Act of 1966 was signed into law on August 24, 1966.
In 1966, Life magazine published an article documenting the housing conditions at animal dealer facilities. The article, titled "Concentration Camp for Dogs", featured pictures of skeletal dogs and described the neglectful conditions that the investigative journalists and Maryland State Police found at a Maryland dog dealer's farm. As a result of these articles, the public lobbied Congress to pass a Federal law that would institute animal housing and care standards.
There was increasing evidence that dogs and cats kept as pets were being stolen by dealers, taken across states lines, and resold to research institutions for scientific experimentation. Many sportsmen supported national legislation because it was their hunting dogs that often went missing.
The Horse Protection Act was passed in 1970 and protected horses against various damaging practices designed to produce aesthetically appealing horses, for example, "soring" the ankles to produce a high-stepping gait. Marine mammals as a class, for the most part, found protection under the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, which prevented extinction or depletion from indiscriminate taking, including hunting, harassment, capture, and killing. Endangered and threatened species were also protected with the passage in 1973 of the Endangered Species Act, which made illegal the purchase, sale, or transportation in interstate or foreign commerce any species found to be endangered, and also closely regulated commerce in any species threatened with extinction.
Amendments
The Act was amended eight times and is enforced by the USDA through the Animal Care division of APHIS.In 1970, the Act was amended to include all warm-blooded animals used in testing, experimentation, exhibition, as pets or sold as pets. Certain cases could be exempted from such definitions unless they used live animal in substantial numbers. Fines were increased for those interfering with an investigation of an experimentation facility. Those found guilty of assaulting or killing Federal inspectors responsible for such tasks also faced additional sentencing. Basic treatment was expanded to include humane and reasonable handling of the animals, and required shelter from weather and temperature extremes, proper ventilation, adequate housing, decent sanitation, and adequate veterinary care at all stages in the animal's life.
The Act was further amended in 1976 to further regulate animal treatment during transportation. Animals were to be kept in adequately sized traveling accommodations, and to be kept from fighting amongst one another. The definition of animal was broadened to rid the law of the possible interpretation that dogs used for hunting, security, and breeding were not included in its protection.
The Act was amended in the Food Security Act of 1985. Under this law, it was not permitted for a single animal to be used in more than one major operative experiment, from which it was also allowed adequate time to recover as guided by a veterinarian with proper training. This amendment directed new minimum standards for the handling, housing, sanitation, feeding and other care practices. The psychological well-being of the animals was now taken into consideration as it never had been before. One provision that stood out at this time was the requirement for the exercise of dogs and psychological well being of primates. The law also requires research facilities to be able to describe painful practices as well as implement practices that minimize pain and stress to the animals. Another requirement made under this law was for each research facility to establish an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee to oversee research proposals and provide oversight of animal experimentation. The Food Security Act also established an information center at the National Agricultural Library, the , to assist researchers in searching scientific literature for alternatives to animal use.
In 1990, The Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 was amended by adding SEC. 2503, Protection of Pets. This section established a holding period for cats and dogs of not less than 5 days at a holding facility of the dealer, so that the animal could be adopted or recovered by their original owner before it is sold. The provision applies to operated pounds, research facilities, or private organizations. It also requires that a written certification with the animal's background be provided to the recipient. Details should include a description of the animal, history of the animal's transfers, records, and modifications, and signatures from the dealer and recipient. Repeat violations of this section are subject to a $5000 fine per cat or dog acquired or sold. Three or more violations could result in the dealer's license being permanently revoked.
Prior to the Animal Welfare Act, animal welfare law was largely reactive and action could only be taken once an animal had suffered unnecessarily.
In 2002, Title X, Subtitle D, of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act amended the Animal Welfare Act of 1966 by changing the definition of animal. Section 2 of the Animal Welfare Act was amended by changing exclusions specifically to birds, rats of the genus Rattus, and mice of the genus Mus to use in research. Additionally, this law expanded the regulation of animal fighting, making it a misdemeanor to ship, exhibit, or sponsor birds for fighting purposes. Penalties under this section could result in a fine of $15000.
In 2007, The Animal Fighting Prohibition Reinforcement Act amended section 26 of the Animal Welfare Act. Its purpose was to strengthen prohibitions against animal fighting, and under the provisions of the AWA it made animal fighting a felony with punishment of up to 3 years in prison under Title 18 of the U.S Code. The act also made it a felony to trade, have knives, gaffs or other objects that aided in use of animal fighting. Also, these provisions were designed to close the loopholes from the 2002 amendments.
In 2008, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, added several new amendments to the Animal Welfare Act. It added more prohibitions to training, possessing and advertising animals or sharp objects for use in animal fighting. The penalties for these crimes were raised to 3–5 years imprisonment. The 2008 amendments also prohibited imports for resale of dogs unless they were at least six months of age, have all necessary vaccinations and are in good health. Furthermore, fines for violations of the Animal Welfare Act increased from $2500 to $10,000 per violation, per animal and per day.
In 2013, "An Act to Amend the Animal Welfare Act to Modify the Definition of 'Exhibitor'," added an owner of a common, domesticated household pet who derives less than a substantial portion of income from a nonprimary source for exhibiting an animal that exclusively resides at the residence of the pet owner, after stores, in section 2.
Legislative and regulatory documents tracing the history of the Animal Welfare Act can be found on the .