In addition, the summary attempts to explain the complexities that surface during debates regarding animal testing and some of the arguments made by both animal advocates as well as those who favor the use of animal testing.
Regulations and laws control the marketing of many commercial products, including drugs, cosmetics, pesticides, and food additives which could potentially be hazardous or pose a danger to human health or the environment. A number of these commercial products are tested on animals. Commercial products are tested on animals to ensure product safety for consumers. For example, mascaras, shampoos, and perfumes are usually tested on the eyes of rabbits and oftentimes the eyelids of animals are forcefully held open for better absorption.
According to the federal Animal Welfare Act AWA , animals that are used in testing are owed proper housing, treatment, veterinary care, food and water. However, a vast majority of animals used in research are excluded from the protections provided for in the AWA. It is limited to warm-blooded animals, and it does not cover many of those — most notably excluding mice, rats, and birds, which along with fish make up 95 percent of the animals used in research.
Other laws, policies, and guidelines cover additional species or include more specifications for animal care and use, but all refer to the Animal Welfare Act as the minimum acceptable standard.
The law focuses mainly on setting standards for animal housing and basic pain control. The Act aims to assure the oversight of animal research primarily by mandating the establishment, at each research institution, of an institutional animal care and use committee, or IACUC — a self-regulating entity that must review all proposed animal research protocols and ensure that the researchers make efforts to treat the animals humanely by employing the 3Rs.
The Guide is an internationally accepted primary reference on animal care for the scientific community and is required for use by federally funded research institutions. Unlike the Animal Welfare Act, it covers mice and rats excluding those bred specifically for research , as well as birds and fish. It is updated regularly to reflect new data, scientific principles, and expert opinions. Identical bills introduced in the Senate and the House of Representatives in would have prohibited the use of great apes in invasive research and for other research purposes.
The Animal Welfare Act:. The Animal Welfare Act, or AWA, is a federal law that addresses the standard of care animals receive at research facilities. This law excludes roughly 95 percent of the animals tested upon — such as rats, mice, birds, fish, and reptiles — and provides only minimal protections for the rest.
Labs are not required to report non-AWA protected animals. The Public Health Service:. When a facility is found deficient, OLAW takes little action, has no mandated follow-up or on-site inspection. The United States Department of Agriculture :. The United States Department of Agriculture, or USDA, is the federal agency responsible for overseeing and inspecting laboratories that experiment on animals, as well as those who breed and sell animals for use in laboratories. The USDA last reported that the agency employs only inspectors, who are responsible for ensuring compliance for more than 12, facilities.
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