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USDA Released Deceptive Lab Animal Report, Says Watchdog Group FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WASHINGTON, DC – The USDA has released a misleading report – which
hides abuse of research animals and under-estimates the number of animals
in labs, charged a national research watchdog organization. The Animal Welfare Enforcement Report (AWER) posted just two days ago
by the USDA reveals an annual increase in overall animal experimentation
of 6%, but some species saw increases of as much as 101%. According to the
USDA, the use of non-human primates in experimentation increased by 5%.
And while the number of animals used in experimentation increased by 6%,
the number of Animal Welfare Act violations by laboratories for the same
period increased by 19%. However, Stop Animal Exploitation NOW (SAEN) claims the AWER is
"fraught with errors," and could understate the number of primates used in
research by as much as 50 percent. "The compilation of such a shoddy report raises serious questions about
the ability of the USDA as a regulatory agency," said Michael A. Budkie,
A.H.T., Executive Director of Cincinnati-based SAEN. “This report
conveniently fails to mention animals used by labs for breeding or
conditioning, which is sometimes the largest section of the population.”
In just two states - South Carolina and Louisiana – USDA tabulations
neglected to mention 18,277 (86%) of the primates kept by labs. Similar
omissions occurred in a more than 14 states. The AWER is compiled annually by the United States Department of
Agriculture/Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA/APHIS) to
report on agency activities regarding enforcement of the Animal Welfare
Act. One main focus of the report is the compilation of statistics
regarding animal experimentation. According to SAEN reporting of statistics on animals used in painful
experimentation is also seriously flawed. “Experiments which subject
animals to extreme confinement or severe hunger and thirst are often not
counted as causing pain or distress,” added Budkie. “One California lab
actually had more animals experiencing pain or distress from
experimentation than the USDA reported for the entire state.” -30-
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