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A review of USDA enforcement actions in 2014

Lab Animal volume 45, pages 135–136 (2016)Cite this article

In a previous Policy Watch column entitled “Understanding USDA's enforcement process”1, we reviewed the four possible enforcement options that were described in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Inspection Requirements Handbook, and we encouraged facilities to have in place proactive, progressive animal care and use programs to help assure compliance with the regulations and standards of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) in an effort to avoid experiencing any of the four options. Since that column was published, revisions have been made to the Animal Welfare Inspection Guide2, including an introduction written about the teachable moment that takes place during the inspection process. Additionally, the Freedom of Information Act has been increasingly used to call for more enforcement of the regulations and standards of the AWA. All of these recent changes can potentially affect the process of USDA enforcement. In this column we review the outcomes of the enforcement process for research facilities, using information that has been posted on the website of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

On May 14, 2015, an announcement from APHIS to its stakeholders entitled “Availability of Agency Investigative and Enforcement Data” announced the publication of frequently requested information on the website of the Investigative and Enforcement Services (IES)3. Initially, summaries and data outlining enforcement actions were posted for the 2014 fiscal year, with a commitment to update the information at the end of the 2015 fiscal year and biannually thereafter. The announcement contains a link to the IES website, which itself includes links to the laws that APHIS enforces, as well as links to bulleted descriptions of the investigative and enforcement processes. There are also links to various summaries of enforcement records, one of which provides monthly updated information on enforcement actions for the Horse Protection Act and the AWA for each fiscal year going back to May 2010. This same link appears on the website of the USDA Animal Care program, and the National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR) has been monitoring this summary since May 2010 as it includes actions taken against research facilities.

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References

  1. Cardon, A.D., Bailey, M.R. & Bennett, B.T. Understanding the USDA's enforcement process, Lab Anim. (NY) 42, 13 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. United States Department of Agriculture. Animal Welfare Inspection Guide (US Department of Agriculture, Riverdale, MD, 2015).

  3. United States Department of Agriculture. APHIS Administrator Announces Availability of Agency Investigative and Enforcement Data. (US Department of Agriculture, Riverdale, MD, 2015). https://www.aphis.usda.gov/stakeholders/downloads/2015/web_data_letter.pdf

  4. United States Department of Agriculture. APHIS Overall Enforcement Summary (US Department of Agriculture, Riverdale, MD, 2014).

  5. Animal Welfare Act regulations. 9 CFR, Chapter I, Subchapter A, Part 4.

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  1. National Association for Biomedical Research, Washington, DC

    B. Taylor Bennett, Andrew D. Cardon & Matthew R. Bailey

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  1. B. Taylor Bennett
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  2. Andrew D. Cardon
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  3. Matthew R. Bailey
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Bennett, B., Cardon, A. & Bailey, M. A review of USDA enforcement actions in 2014. Lab Anim 45, 135–136 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban.984

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