Reporting Requirements Under the Animal Welfare Act: Their Inadequacies and the Public's Right to Know

Authors

Mark Solomon, University of Virginia Law School
Peter C. Lovenheim, The Humane Society of the United StatesFollow

Document Type

Response or Comment

Publication Date

1982

Abstract

We conclude from the analysis that the Reporting System, as presently administered, fails to achieve its primary statutory objective: it does not provide APHIS with information sufficient to demonstrate that researchers have used pain-relieving drugs "appropriately" and in accordance with "professionally acceptable standards." The chief reasons for this failing are (1) regulations and guidelines do not define "pain" or "distress," (2) regulations and guidelines do not adequately define "routine procedures," and (3) regulations and guidelines do not require meaningful explanations for the withholding of pain-relieving drugs in procedures acknowledged to cause pain.

Comments

This article is adapted from a petition for rulemaking filed by The HSUS with the USDA on February 22, 1982.

Recommended Citation

Solomon, M., & Lovenheim, P.C. (1982). Reporting requirements under the Animal Welfare Act: Their inadequacies and the public's right to know. International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems, 3(3), 210-218.