US:
The Animal Welfare Act is the single U.S law that gives some sort of protection for
animals used in research. Introduced in 1966 it monitors the care and use of
the animals in research, testing and other animal uses. However good this law may sound, the AWA only provides minimal protection for the animals. It excludes rats, mice and birds that are bred for research and constitute for over 90 - 95% of animals in laboratories. It also does not include cold-blooded animals such as reptiles and amphibians or farm animals bred for human
consumption or agricultural research, nor any species of invertebrate. Less than 10% of animals used in testing
are covered by the AWA and for the minor percentage that are, it merely provides
minimal standards for basic care needs such as feeding, handling, veterinary care, and only for specific species e.g. chimpanzees where it provides a standard for both mental as well as physical health.
UK and Europe:
The UK can at least be proud of the fact that it refused to lower the standards of regulation governing animal testing to comply with an EU directive on the matter. The EU have made it illegal to sell any cosmetics e.g. makeup and soaps that have been tested on animals to ensure that an animals life is not being wasted to ensure that we do not fall ill whilst trying to make ourselves prettier.
In the above countries and many others, the legal requirements for animal testing are not tied to a requirement for those companies involved in animal testing to be totally transparent about the tests they perform, nor require them to invest in methods that reduce the number of tests they perform, reduce the suffering of the animals in measurable ways, and to invest in alternatives to animal testing.
The Animal Welfare Act is the single U.S law that gives some sort of protection for
animals used in research. Introduced in 1966 it monitors the care and use of
the animals in research, testing and other animal uses. However good this law may sound, the AWA only provides minimal protection for the animals. It excludes rats, mice and birds that are bred for research and constitute for over 90 - 95% of animals in laboratories. It also does not include cold-blooded animals such as reptiles and amphibians or farm animals bred for human
consumption or agricultural research, nor any species of invertebrate. Less than 10% of animals used in testing
are covered by the AWA and for the minor percentage that are, it merely provides
minimal standards for basic care needs such as feeding, handling, veterinary care, and only for specific species e.g. chimpanzees where it provides a standard for both mental as well as physical health.
UK and Europe:
The UK can at least be proud of the fact that it refused to lower the standards of regulation governing animal testing to comply with an EU directive on the matter. The EU have made it illegal to sell any cosmetics e.g. makeup and soaps that have been tested on animals to ensure that an animals life is not being wasted to ensure that we do not fall ill whilst trying to make ourselves prettier.
In the above countries and many others, the legal requirements for animal testing are not tied to a requirement for those companies involved in animal testing to be totally transparent about the tests they perform, nor require them to invest in methods that reduce the number of tests they perform, reduce the suffering of the animals in measurable ways, and to invest in alternatives to animal testing.