AAMC Opposes APHIS's Proposed
Record Keeping Requirements for Animals Used in Research
June 13, 2003 - The AAMC June 10 submitted comments
to the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on a proposed rule
that would require research facilities to maintain detailed
medical records on animals used in research. The proposal
was published in the April 11 Federal Register.
In its letter,
the AAMC voiced support for the proposition that maintaining
appropriate medical records is an important component in documenting
adequate veterinary care. However, AAMC found "the proposed
rule to be overly prescriptive and inappropriate because it
seeks to regulate many areas that are rightfully within the
scope of the professional judgment of the attending veterinarian."
In addition, the AAMC said that, "APHIS is proposing
an expansive system of animal health records and has seriously
underestimated the amount of time that will be needed and
the volume of paperwork that it will generate. Moreover, some
of the information APHIS proposes to require is superfluous
to its stated goals of ensuring adequate veterinary care in
the research environment."
The AAMC endorsed the detailed comments submitted by the
National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR) and the
American Physiological Society (APS) on the proposed regulation.
In summary, AAMC said, "…that if the current proposal
were promulgated without major revision, veterinarians and
research institutions will be severely burdened with unnecessary
work, animals will undergo unnecessary diagnostic procedures,
and the system will be subject to unnecessary paperwork."
Information:
Tony Mazzaschi, Senior Associate Vice President
AAMC Biomedical Health Sciences Research
tmazzaschi@aamc.org
(202) 828-0059
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