Progress for Science
Importantly, not all animals are protected under the AWA, the only federal law that protects animals used in experiments. In the case of animal experimentation, it is estimated that at least 95% of animals used in experiments in the United States are excluded from protection under this law (AAVS). This report only details violations of the AWA, as there is no systematic federal oversight of animals not covered under this Act.
This report details citations for animal welfare violations that schools
in the University of California (UC) system received from the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), a division of the United Sates
Department of Agriculture (USDA), between August 2010 and June 2013. These
citations indicate confirmed violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA)
found during inspections by APHIS of animal experimentation facilities at UC
campuses. This report underestimates the total number of violations because
any violation that a University contests remains confidential while it is
being appealed, and many of these currently confidential violations will
eventually be confirmed violations of the AWA.
Others can conduct similar research on confirmed violations to the AWA in facilities inspected by the federal government on the APHIS website (APHIS), which keeps a database of three years of citation and animal usage information. If one is interested in determining if and where animal experiments are being conducted in his/her community, this database can be searched by location; the Humane Society of the United States publishes a list of animal experimentation facilities in the United States (HSUS) as well.
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