The Animal Welfare Act: Background and Selected Animal Welfare Legislation

Summary

In 1966, Congress passed the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act (P.L. 89-54) to prevent pets from being stolen for sale to research laboratories, and to regulate the humane care and handling of dogs, cats, and other laboratory animals. Farm animals are not covered by the AWA. The law was amended in 1970 (P.L. 91-579), changing the name to the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The AWA is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Congress periodically amends the act to strengthen enforcement, expand coverage to more animals and activities, or curtail practices viewed as cruel (e.g., animal fighting), among other things. Congress also addresses animal welfare issues through other legislation (e.g., the Horse Protection Act), but the AWA remains the central federal statute governing the humane care and handling of mammals, including marine mammals.

Animal welfare bills introduced in the 114^th Congress include the Pet Safety and Protection Act (H.R. 2849), which would amend the AWA to ensure that all cats and dogs used in research were properly obtained. H.R. 3136, the Enforcement Transparency Act of 2015, would amend the AWA to require USDA to issue guidelines relating to civil fines imposed for violating the AWA. H.R. 3193, the Animal Emergency Planning Act of 2015, would amend the AWA to require that research facilities, animal dealers, exhibitors, handlers, and carriers under the AWA, develop and implement emergency contingency plans for animals in their charge. The Orca Responsibility and Care Advancement Act of 2015 (H.R. 4019) would amend both the AWA and the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to prohibit the capture, importation, and exportation of orcas for public display. The bill would amend the AWA to prohibit the breeding of orcas for exhibition purposes. The Safe Transport for Horses Act (S. 946) and the Horse Transportation Safety Act (H.R. 1282) would amend the Transportation title (49 U.S.C. 80502) to prohibit the interstate transportation of horses in motor vehicles containing two or more levels stacked on top of one another. The Refuge from Cruel Trapping Act (S. 1081/H.R. 2016) would ban body-gripping traps from National Wildlife Refuges. Each of these bills has been referred to committees, but no further action was taken as of late 2015.

Following publication of USDA Inspector General's report on the inadequacy of the current horse soring inspection system, legislation to amend the Horse Protection Act (P.L. 91-540) was introduced. H.R. 3268/S. 1121, the Prevent All Soring Techniques (PAST) Act, would amend the current soring inspection system to place inspections under APHIS control rather than under the horse industry as it is currently. The Horse Protection Amendments Act (S. 1161) would also modify the inspection system, but retain inspection control within the horse industry.

Also introduced in the 114^th Congress were bills that would end the exemption of farm animals from regulation under the AWA, and bring federal research under AWA registration and inspection. H.R. 746/S. 388, the Animal Welfare in Agricultural Research Endeavors Act, is a response to a widely reviewed article in the New York Times on the research activities at the Meat Animal Research Center, a USDA Agricultural Research Serviced facility.

Among APHIS regulatory actions in 2015 concerning the AWA, APHIS announced in May 2015 that it was seeking public comment on a petition from several animal welfare groups asking for specific rules on the care of all primates regarding their social and psychological well-being. APHIS also announced receiving a petition in 2013 from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine to amend the AWA to define alternatives to procedures that may cause pain or distress to animals and to establish standards to consider these alternatives. APHIS is currently considering public comments that it received regarding these two petitions.

In 2002, an amendment to the AWA changed the definition of "animal" to include birds, rats, and mice. However, APHIS has yet to promulgate a rule to implement this change in the definition. As of late 2015, APHIS stated that it is moving forward with a final rule, but has not stated a timeline for its publication.

The regulation further exempts anyone selling animals (except wild or exotic animals) that derives no more than $500 gross income from the sale of such animals. The rule would also increase from three to four the number of breeding female dogs or cats, and/or small exotic or wild mammals, that a person may maintain on premises and remain exempt from AWA licensing and inspection.

APHIS's Animal Care (AC) program oversees implementation of the AWA. For 2015, AC had an annual budget of approximately $28 million.⁴

The 2002 farm bill also amended the AWA's definition of "animal" to include rats, mice, and birds as animals covered under the AWA. Birds, rats, and mice bred for use in research were excluded from the amended definition. APHIS has, as of late 2015, not published its final rule implementing the definition change.

While animal fighting or hosting an animal fighting exhibit were prohibited under P.L. 110-22, attendance at animal fighting exhibitions was not. The Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act (H.R. 366, S. 666) was reintroduced in the 113^th Congress. The bill would have imposed criminal penalties for attendance at animal fighting exhibitions, or for causing a minor to attend an animal fight. This prohibition on attendance was added to both the 2013 House (H.R. 1947) and Senate (S. 954) farm bills and included in the final bill (Section 112308, P.L. 113-79).

The 2014 farm bill also establishes a new "de minimis" standard for the AWA. The "de minimis" provision apples to the entire AWA and gives APHIS new discretionary authority to exclude licensing and registration requirements for animal dealers and exhibitors dealers "if the size of the business is determined by the Secretary to be 'de minimis.'" The "de minimis" provision will likely allow a large number of current dealers and exhibitors to avoid APHIS registration and licensing who otherwise would, without the "de minimis" standard, be required to have an AWA license. As of late 2015, the "de minimis" is still in the APHIS clearance process.

The Horse Protection Act (HPA), enacted in 1970 (P.L. 91-540), prohibits the showing, sale, auction, exhibition, or transport of sored horses. Soring is a practice primarily used in the training of Tennessee Walking Horses, racking horses, and related breeds to accentuate the horse's gait. Horse soring is accomplished by several techniques, including the application of chemicals to irritate or blister a horse's forelegs, or the use of various mechanical devices.

APHIS is responsible for administrating the HPA and for conducting inspections at horse shows, exhibitions, and auctions. In 1976, the Horse Protection Act Amendments were enacted (P.L. 94-360) in response to APHIS's weak enforcement of the HPA. The act established what became the Designated Qualified Person (DQP) Program, an organizational structure that organizes inspections at horse events. The DQP program was implemented in 1979 (9 C.F.R. 11.7). A DQP is a person who, under the provisions of Section 4 of the HPA, is appointed and delegated authority by the management of a horse show or sale to detect horses that are sored. DQPs are USDA-accredited veterinarians with equine experience, or they are farriers, horse trainers, or other who have been formally trained and licensed by USDA-certified Horse Industry Organization (HIO).⁹

In 2010, USDA's Office of the Inspector General issued a report on enforcement of the HPA.¹⁰ The report revealed serious shortcomings in the inspection process, with lax enforcement, repeat offenders receiving little or no sanctions, and poor documentation of inspections and sanctions. In particular, the report found that the industry's self-regulation system had not been adequate to ensure that these horses were not being abused. In the wake of this report, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service agreed with the analysis and the need to put into place better efforts to enforce the regulations of the HPA.¹¹

The Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act (H.R. 3268/S. 1121) would amend the HPA to ban "action devices" on horses, modify the existing DQP inspection system, and impose new penalties on HPA violations.¹² The "action devices," like other soring techniques, produce a more pronounced gait in a Tennessee walking horse, a racking horse, or a spotted saddle horse. The amendments apply only these breeds and apply to the sale, showing, or transportation of such horses.

The PAST Act would also end the horse industry's ability to self-police with industry-selected inspectors by creating a new licensing process requiring APHIS to appoint inspectors for HPA-regulated activities and venues. Hiring inspectors would be the responsibility of the show, sale, or auction. The definition of "event management" would be expanded to include "sponsoring organizations" and "event managers." This expansion would make them potentially liable for HPA violations.

The bill would also increase the maximum fine for HPA violations from $3,000 to $5,000 as well as raise maximum prison sentence to three years. Trainers with three violations could get a lifetime ban from participating in shows, exhibitions, or auctions. These changes would be applicable to all horse breeds subject to HPA regulation.

Animal welfare organizations have been active supporters of the bills (e.g., American Horse Protection Association, Humane Society of the United States, American Horse Council, and Association for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Animal Welfare Institute, American Association of Equine Practitioners). Horse breeder associations have generally opposed the bill or major portions of the proposed amendments (e.g., Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders and Exhibitors Association, Tennessee Walking Show Horse Organization, Racking Horse Association of America, National Spotted Horse Breeders and Exhibitors Association).

Another bill introduced in the 114^th Congress addresses some of the major concerns of those opposed to the PAST Act. The Horse Protection Amendments Act of 2015 (H.R. 4105/S. 1161) would establish how inspectors are to be appointed and the manner of conducting inspections. The bill would direct USDA to establish the Horse Industry Organization governed by a nine-member board. This board would have two members appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture for Tennessee and two members appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture for Kentucky. These members would serve a term of four years. Two additional members of this board would represent the Tennessee Walking Horse Industry and be appointed by the two Commissioners of Agriculture. These representatives would serve a term of three years. The remaining three members of the board would be appointed by the other six members.

This proposed board would establish requirements to appoint individuals to conduct inspections of horses. USDA would certify the Horse Industry Organization for purposes of licensing inspectors. These individuals would be "qualified to detect and diagnose a horse which is sore." To address potential conflicts of interest by inspectors, the board would prohibit any potential inspector from having employment with, or providing services to any show manager, trainer, owner, or exhibitor of Tennessee Walking Horses, Spotted Saddle Horses, or Racking Horses. Nor could a potential inspector train, exhibit, show, breed, or sell Tennessee Walkers, Racking Horses, or Spotted Saddle Horses.

In January 2015, the New York Times (NYT) published an exposé of research activities at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center located near Clay Center, Nebraska. The center is a USDA facility overseen by USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS). The news article described "unsanitary housing and brutal treatment of pigs; violent forced mating between bulls and cows; and hormonal experiments conducted on sheep," among other animal welfare issues.

The research practices reported in the NYT article raised significant public concern about animal welfare standards at the center. It prompted the Secretary of Agriculture to order USDA staff to deliver an updated Animal Welfare Strategy plan for the center and other ARS laboratories within 60 days. The Secretary also announced the appointment of an animal welfare ombudsman to coordinate USDA's review of animal welfare at the center and other ARS laboratories.¹³

The AWA currently excludes farm animals from AWA coverage, and also excludes federal research institutions from AWA registration and inspection.¹⁴ H.R. 746/S. 388 (the Animal Welfare in Agricultural Research Endeavors Act) would amend the AWA to require that farm animals and federal laboratories using farm animals be subject to AWA regulations. The bill was referred to the House Agriculture Committee, but no further action was taken as of late 2015.

Critics have long asserted that the limited number of Class B dealers who still collect dogs and cats from random sources, including "free to a good home" classified ads, auctions, and flea markets, are more concerned about profit than animal welfare. Others have contended that passage would leave no viable sources of random source dogs and cats, which are needed by medical and veterinary researchers because of their genetic and age diversity, and that the majority of Class B dealers are in compliance with the AWA.

A National Research Council (NRC) report on the issue published in May 2009 concluded that random source dogs and cats may be desirable and necessary for certain types of biomedical research but that "it is not necessary to acquire them through Class B dealers, as there are adequate numbers of such animals from shelters and other sources." The NRC noted that of the more than 1,000 Class B dealers in the United States, at last count only 11 of them acquired and sold live dogs and cats for research and teaching. The report's conclusions and recommendations applied only to these 11 dealers that may supply such animals for research funded by the National Institutes of Health.

The report discussed in more detail the advantages and disadvantages of random source dogs and cats, which constitute less than 1% of all laboratory animals; evaluates the Class B dealer system, under which (it found) animal standards of care appear to vary greatly; and offers alternative options for obtaining random source animals. These alternatives include partnering with pet owners, veterinarians, breeders, and others; obtaining animals from Class A dealers and through donations from small breeders and hobby clubs; and acquiring animals directly from pounds and shelters, among others.

The Pet Safety and Protection Act was reintroduced in the 114^th Congress as H.R. 2849 and would amend the AWA to limit the sources of random source dogs and cats to a licensed dealer (under Section 3 of the AWA) who has bred and raised the animal; a publicly owned or operated pound or shelter that meets certain qualifications; someone donating the dog or cat that bred and raised the animal or owned it for not less than one year; and research facilities licensed by the Secretary of Agriculture. The bill also would subject violators to a fine of $1,000 per violation, over and above any other applicable penalties. The bill was referred to committee, and no further action was taken as of late 2015.

The Enforcement Transparency Act would require the Secretary of Agriculture to publish guidelines on USDA's website relating to the calculation of civil fines for violations under the AWA. The guidelines would require quarterly updates and the updates published in the Federal Register.

Disasters can leave animals as vulnerable as humans. Past natural disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy highlighted the need for planning to minimize the effects of such disasters. The Animal Emergency Planning Act would amend the AWA to require research facilities, animal dealers, handlers, exhibitors, and carriers to develop and document a contingency plan to provide for the humane handling, treatment, housing, and care of animals in the event of an emergency or disaster.

Humane care and handling of marine mammals are also covered under AWA regulation. Following widespread dissemination in 2015 of a film about captive orcas at Sea World ("Black Fish"), media and public attention to captive marine mammals (e.g., porpoises, whales, orcas) increased significantly. The Orca Responsibility and Care Advancement Act would amend both the AWA and the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to prohibit the capture, importation, and exportation of orcas for purposes of public display. The bill would also amend the AWA to prohibit the breeding of orcas for exhibition purposes.

Animal welfare activists have argued that hauling horses in double-decker trailers is dangerous and inhumane. Because double-deckers were designed for hauling cattle and hogs, the trailers do not provide sufficient headroom for horses to stand up straight. S. 946 and H.R. 1282 would amend the Transportation title (49 U.S.C. 80502) to prohibit interstate transportation of horses in motor vehicles containing two or more levels stacked on top of one another.

The National Wildlife Refuge System, managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service, permits wildlife trapping in over half the system's refuges. Body-gripping traps such as snares and steel-jaw leg-hold traps can kill and maim non-target animals. Even when trapping target animals, the traps are considered to be cruel and inhumane by animal welfare groups. The Refuge from Cruel Trapping Act would amend the National Wildlife Refuge System Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.) by banning the possession or use of body-gripping traps in wildlife refuges, and impose civil fines and forfeiture for violations.

In March 2015, APHIS filed public notices in the Federal Register regarding the agency's consideration of two petitions they had received that could require changes to existing AWA regulations. The first petition, received in 2013, was from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.¹⁵ The petition requests that APHIS initiate rulemaking to add a definition of the term "alternatives" in order to define what a primary investigator at a facility using animals as research models is required to consider in lieu of a procedure that may cause more than momentary or slight pain or distress to an animal. The petition further requests that APHIS amend the existing definition of "painful procedure" to codify long-standing APHIS policy that a procedure should be considered painful if it may cause more than momentary or slight pain or distress to the animal. APHIS is currently considering public comments and supporting documents received by May 29, 2015.

The second petition, published May 1, 2015, concerns the social and psychological well-being of primates in captivity.¹⁶ Following a decision by the National Institutes of Health in 2013 to retire most of its chimpanzees used in biomedical research, and to house them in sanctuaries suitable to their natural social groups and behaviors, animal welfare activists turned their attention to the estimated 110,000 other primates in research laboratories. These primates, like chimpanzees, are also highly social animals. The New England Anti-Vivisection Society filed a petition with APHIS asking for specific rules on the care of all primates regarding their social and psychological well-being. APHIS took public comments until June 30, 2015, and is currently considering them.

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