Meat Animal Research Center: The Animal Welfare Act and Farm Animal Research

On January 19, 2015, the New York Times (NYT) published an exposé of research activities at the Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center located near Clay Center, Nebraska. The Center is a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) facility overseen by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS). A veterinarian, who had worked at the Center for 24 years, approached the newspaper after his concerns about animal welfare conditions apparently went unanswered by the Center. The news article described “unsanitary housing and brutal treatment of pigs; violent forced mating between bulls and cows; and hormonal experiments conducted on sheep,” among other animal welfare issues. The NYT article raised significant public concern about animal welfare standards at the Center and other federal research facilities, especially because farm animals and federal research institutions are exempt under the Animal Welfare Act, the major federal statute governing animal research activities and other animal well-being conditions. In response to the article, the Secretary of Agriculture ordered USDA staff to deliver an updated Animal Welfare Strategy plan for the center and other ARS laboratories. In addition, ARS announced the appointment of the first ever Animal Welfare Ombudsman to coordinate a USDA review of animal welfare at the Center and other ARS laboratories. The Secretary of Agriculture established an Animal Handling and Welfare Review Panel and charged it with reviewing ARS-wide research animal care and welfare policies. Following a three-day site visit to the Center in February and a public commentary period, the Panel published its final report on March 30. The Panel issued findings from its investigation of the Center and made several recommendations, including improving animal welfare training of the Center’s employees and establishing clearer lines of authority in the Center’s cooperative agreement with the University of Nebraska regarding oversight of animal care and use in research and teaching activities. The report also emphasized that the Federation of Animal Science Societies Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Research and Teaching (Ag Guide) should be the primary document for policies guiding animal care and well-being. While this document is cited by ARS as a guiding document in its own Directive for animal welfare, the Panel noted failures to adhere to some of the Ag Guide’s standards. The most significant recommendations of the Panel concerned the inadequacy of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at the Center. An IACUC is a requirement under the Animal Welfare Act and is responsible for oversight of research activities involving animals. On September 28, 2015, USDA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) published its interim review of the Meat Animal Research Center. The OIG reviewed 33 statements in the original NYT article, interviewed key individuals, and conducted a performance audit of the Center. On completing its fieldwork, the OIG will issue a final report. Bills have been introduced in Congress to address some of the issues raised by the NYT article. The Animal Welfare in Agricultural Research Endeavors Act (AWARE; H.R. 746 and S. 388) was introduced on February 5 in the House and Senate. The identical bills would amend the AWA to include under its jurisdiction farm animals being used in agricultural research at federal facilities. On June 18, 2015, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration approved an FY2016 appropriations bill that prohibits obligating $56,123,000 of the total ARS appropriation until the Secretary of Agriculture certifies in writing to both the House and Senate Appropriation Committees that ARS has updated its animal care policies and that all ARS research facilities at which animal research is conducted have a fully functioning IACUC, including all appropriate and necessary record keeping.