Animal Welfare Act
Public Law 89-544
The purchase, sale, housing, care, handling, treatment and
transportation of animals used in teaching, research, exhibitions,
and those sold as pets are regulated by authority granted in the Animal
Welfare Act of 1966 and its amendments. The Law is implemented in the
Code of Federal Regulations, Title 9, Chapter I, Subchapter A (Animal
Welfare). Subchapter A serves as the USDA regulatory guide which defines
the specific standards and requirements governing the humane handling,
care, treatment, and transportation of animals. Failure to comply with
these standards may lead to civil or criminal prosecution resulting
in substantial fines and/or suspension of animal research activities.
The Act specifically includes dogs, cats, nonhuman primates, guinea
pigs, hamsters, rabbits, all wild animal species, and any other warm-blooded
animal which is being used or is intended for use in research, testing,
experimentation, exhibition purposes, or being sold as pets. Specifically
exempted are rats of the genus rattus and mice of the genus mus bred
for use in research, and horses not used for research and other farm
animals used for food, or livestock and poultry used for the improvement
of animal nutrition, breeding, management, or production.
Recent amendments address such issues as exercise for dogs and care of non-human primates to ensure their psychological well-being. The composition and duties of an institutional animal care and use committee, adequate veterinary care and responsibilities of the attending veterinarian, training of all personnel using laboratory animals in humane methods of animal maintenance and experimentation, and record keeping are addressed.
The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
(IACUC) is responsible for reviewing all protocols using animals to make
certain the protocols meet criteria listed in the amendments. In addition,
the IACUC must conduct semiannual inspections of all animal study areas
and animal facilities. The importance of this requirement is underscored
by the fact that the Chief Executive Officer of the institution must
certify that the attending veterinarian and the animal care and use committee
have the authority to enter any animal area at any reasonable time.
