Animal Welfare Information Center Newsletter, Winter 1996/1997, Vol. 7 No. 3-4

APHIS Animal Care Update

The Animal Welfare Act --Who needs to comply?

Over the last several weeks, the staff at AWIC has received several phone calls and e-mails suggesting that only an institution or company receiving Federal funds needs to register with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a research facility and comply with the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131-2157). The October 11, 1996, issue of Science states that only Federally funded investigators have to comply with certain sections of the Animal Welfare Act.

According to W. Ron DeHaven, D.V.M., Acting Deputy Administrator for Animal Care, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), USDA, any non-Federal institution using regulated live animals for research, testing, teaching, or experimentation must register with USDA as a research facility. Regulated animals include all warm-blooded vertebrates but, at the present time, exclude rats of the genus Rattus, mice of the genus Mus, and all birds. Farm animals used in food/fiber research or production are excluded by law. [Note: Federal facilities must comply with the Animal Welfare Act. However, they are exempt from registering with USDA.]

APHIS publishes a booklet-- http://www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/pubs/awlicreg.html Licensing and Registration Under the Animal Welfare Act-Guidelines for Dealers, Transporters, and Researchers--that lists the major types of regulated and exempt business. This publication is available from AWIC. Additional information is available from the Animal Care regional offices.

Animal Care Regional Offices

Eastern Region

Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin

USDA, APHIS, Animal Care
2568-A Riva Road, Suite 302
Annapolis, MD 21401-7400
Phone: (410) 571-8692
Fax: (410) 962-0008

Central Region

Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas

USDA, APHIS, Animal Care
501 Felix Street, Building 11
P.O. Box 6258
Fort Worth, TX 76115
Phone: (817) 885-6910
Fax: (817) 885-6917

Western Region

Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming

USDA, APHIS, Animal Care
9580 Micron Avenue, Suite J
Sacramento, CA 95827
Phone: (916) 857-6205
Fax: (916) 857-6212

This article appeared in the Animal Welfare Information Center Newsletter, Volume 7, Number 3-4, Winter 1996/1997

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The Animal Welfare Information Center
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Agricultural Research Service
National Agricultural Library
10301 Baltimore Ave.
Beltsville, MD 20705-2351

Phone: (301) 504-6212
Fax: (301) 504-7125
E-mail: awic@nal.usda.gov

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March 13 1997
This page's URL is http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/newsletters/v7n3/7n3compl.htm