Proposed Amendments
Many animal welfare groups and animal activists support strengthening and further enforcement of the act. The act is often criticized for its exclusions of rats and mice, which are the most widely used laboratory animals. Although the act was amended to include all warmblooded animals in 1970, birds, mice, and rats were subsequently excluded in 2002. Some, however, feel that additional animals that are not warmblooded, should be included in the act's protection. A significant number of people have stated that a higher level of funding should be allocated for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of the act.
Some critics question whether or not the act appropriately keeps track of the effectiveness of drugs that are given to animals during experimentation to dull their pain and suffering.
Considering that other alternatives to animal experimentation are available, many also criticize the fact that animals are permitted legally to be used in scientific experimentation.
On the other hand, there are many opponents of increased government regulation for scientific research facilities. Some claim that researchers and their institutions are the ones best suited to determine what policies are acceptable regarding their care of animals. Some in the scientific community feel that it would be inappropriate to regulate animal use at a higher level. There are as well those that feel that funding for the act should be altogether eliminated, although this extreme view is not as widely accepted.
There have been numerous sanctions taken against individuals and agencies that have been found in violation of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). A database of violations, reports, and sanctions on behalf of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) can be found on the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website.
Read more about this topic: Animal Welfare Act Of 1966
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