Chronicle of Higher Education
July 13, 2001

New Research-Animal Protections Barred at Agriculture Department
By RON SOUTHWICK

The House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations has quietly
approved a measure barring the U.S. Department of Agriculture from using
its
funds to extend protection to rodents and birds used in laboratory
research.

The stipulation would specifically forbid the agency to widen the Animal

Welfare Act to include birds, mice, and rats in the 2002 fiscal year.
College lobbyists are cheering the move.
The House panel included the measure in the Agriculture Department's
appropriations bill for 2002, which the committee approved last month.
Last year, lawmakers signed off on language prohibiting the agency from
regulating birds, mice, and rats in 2001. The Animal Welfare Act is the
primary federal law regulating animals used in research.
College administrators have argued that expanding the law to include
birds
and rodents will cost institutions millions in additional paperwork.
Officials at animal-rights groups said they were bitterly disappointed
with
the House bill's language.
"We will work to see that it is removed," said Martin L. Stephens, vice
president for animal research at the Humane Society of the United
States.
The Humane Society has joined with other animal-protection groups to
lobby
for the expansion of the Animal Welfare Act.
Research advocates are working to see that the Senate, which also must
approve the Agriculture Department's spending, agrees to a similar
provision, said Anthony Mazzaschi, assistant vice president for research
at
the Association of American Medical Colleges. College lobbyists are
asking
Sen. Herb Kohl, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee
that
oversees the Agriculture Department, to include similar language in the
Senate version of the spending bill.
Senator Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat, supported the provision that kept
the
department from expanding the Animal Welfare Act this year, Mr.
Mazzaschi
noted. However, animal-rights groups are likely to find a senator
willing to
sponsor a bill to expand protection to birds and rodents, particularly
with
Democrats controlling the Senate, Mr. Mazzaschi said.
The Department of Agriculture agreed to develop new regulations to
include
birds and rodents last fall. The agency took that step to settle a
lawsuit
filed by the Alternatives Research and Development Foundation, a group
that
promotes finding ways to avoid using animals in laboratory studies.
The foundation and animal-protection groups contend that it is
especially
important to protect birds and rodents, because nearly all animal-based
research involves mice and rats.
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--
James R. Brett, Ph.D., Director,
Office of University Research
California State University, Long Beach
562-985-5314  562-985-8665 fax
http://www.ur.csulb.edu

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