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Bill would delay regulation of research rats
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Lawmakers are moving to prevent the government from implementing a settlement with animal rights activists aimed at regulating the care of laboratory rats and other small research animals. The Agriculture Department has agreed to propose rules covering rats, mice and birds under the Animal Welfare Act, but a provision inserted into an agricultural spending bill awaiting final action in Congress would bar the USDA from acting on the settlement for at least a year. "We've waited 30 years for these animals to have protection, I suppose we can wait one more. It's unfortunate the animals have to wait," John McArdle, director of the Alternatives Research and Development Foundation, said Tuesday. The foundation filed the lawsuit that resulted in the settlement.
The settlement became final on Friday, a day after a House-Senate conference committee finished drafting the spending bill, which pays for operations of USDA and the Food and Drug Administration for the 2001 budget year. The provision was written by the National Association for Biomedical Research and put into the bill by Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., at the request of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, said Barbara Rich, executive vice president of the research group. "We suggested it as a way of slowing this down so the research community would have the time that we need to comment on this," Rich said. Cochran was the lead Senate negotiator on the spending bill's final version. The House was expected to vote on the bill Wednesday. Scientists and laboratories who oppose the settlement say that mice, rats and birds already are sufficiently protected because much of the research is done under grants from government health agencies that have animal-care standards. The department would likely require labs to report the number of animals they use and categorize the types of pain and distress the animals are under. Labs also could be required to consider alternatives to animals for research, such as computer simulations. USDA spokesman Andy Solomon said the department had nothing to do with the congressional measure. "They clearly have the authority to include this kind of language in the budget. We did not seek it," Solomon said. USDA's regulations under the Animal Welfare Act now are limited to protection of larger animals, such as chimpanzees, cats and guinea pigs. Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. RELATED STORIES: AIDS study targeting cats infuriates animal activists RELATED SITES: USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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