Scientists Center For Animal Welfare

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Regulating Mice, Rats and Birds

The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) (7USC 2131) provides for warm-blooded animals, including  purpose-bred laboratory rats, mice and birds, to be regulated.  When the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued the first set of regulations, laboratory-bred rats, mice and birds were excluded by administrative rule.  The inclusion of these warm-blooded animals has not been considered with the additional changes in the USDA regulations (9 CFR: parts 1, 2 & 3).  Congress did not specifically exclude laboratory-bred rats, mice and birds from the AWA.    The Secretary of Agriculture excluded them from the regulations.  Therefore, all that is needed to include laboratory-bred rats, mice and birds under the law would be for the USDA to make appropriate changes in the regulations.  This process includes publishing proposed regulations in the Federal Register, public hearings and comments from interested parties, and then a final regulation (ruling) issued by the Secretary of Agriculture.  No further Congressional action is required to modify the regulations that pertain to the AWA.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) forecast a rise in the use of mice and rats in biomedical research in fields like molecular biology, transgenics and gene mapping.  The fact that laboratory-bred rats, mice and birds are not covered by USDA regulations sends the wrong message to scientists entering these rapidly developing fields of science, as well as to the public. The Scientists Center for Animal Welfare (SCAW )strongly feels that the USDA should act promptly to change laboratory-bred rats, mice and birds from non-regulated species to regulated species.

 The major concerns associated with the inclusion of  laboratory-bred rats, mice and birds under the USDA regulations are the additional costs and the administrative burdens that would be placed on both the regulated entities and the USDA.  SCAW believes that some of these issues may be alleviated through the adoption of performance based standards, the use of statistical sampling methods for the inspection process, and new enforcement practices.  An example of one of these initiatives is the USDA proposed Partners for Animal Care Excellence (PACE) program.  SCAW is willing to provide assistance to the USDA and USDA regulated institutions in order to seek a suitable format to ensure the inclusion of  laboratory-bred rats, mice and birds.

 It is important to note that most registered research institutions already provide laboratory animal programs that meet or exceed universally acceptable standards of care for all animals, including laboratory rats, mice and birds.  The Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (PHS Policy) applies to all activities involving live vertebrate animals conducted or supported by the Public Health Service.  The National Research Council, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration comply with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (Institute of Laboratory Animal Research, National Academy Press, revised 1996), a primary reference on laboratory animal (including rats, mice and birds) care and use.  Many biomedical institutions are accredited by Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC) which cites the Guide as its core reference.  For accreditation, AAALAC requires that all animals be covered.  The vast majority of the  laboratory-bred rats, mice and birds in the USA are in facilities that already meet or exceed standards based on the institution’s accreditation by AAALAC or equivalent compliance with the Guide.

By far the greatest number of the animals used in biomedical research studies in the USA are laboratory-bred rats and mice.  Their coverage under the AWA and by USDA regulations is appropriate and proper.

The Scientists Center for Animal Welfare promotes excellence in science coupled with excellence in animal welfare.  Therefore, we consider AWA coverage of all animals appropriate.  SCAW has always included these warm-blooded animals in our educational programs.  SCAW supports the principle that laboratory-bred rats, mice and birds should be included under USDA regulations.
 Revised June 23, 1999