Current
Rats, Mice, and Birds Amendment Included in the Final
Farm Bill; Puppy Protection Act Dropped
The president signed May 13 the Farm Aid bill (P.L.
107-171), including the Helms amendment,
which excludes rats, mice, and birds from the definition of
animal in the Animal Welfare Act. The bill was approved by
the House May 2 and by the Senate May 8. The AAMC supported
this amendment because change to the current definition of
animal under the AWA would subject researchers to costly,
duplicative, and burdensome new regulations that do not enhance
the care and treatment of laboratory animals.
The Puppy Protection Act (S.
1478), which was included in the original Senate-passed
version of the bill, was dropped from the final. The bill
sought to control so-called "puppy mills" selling
of dogs to the public as pets, but some of its provisions
would have adversely affected dogs being bred for research.
"Just in Time" IACUC Approval Requirement
NIH published in the March 28, 2002 Federal Register a notice
proposing to amend the Public Health Service (PHS) Policy
on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals to permit institutions
with PHS Animal Welfare Assurances to submit verification
of Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approval
for competing applications subsequent to peer review but prior
to award. The AAMC on April 2, 2002 wrote to NIH supporting
the proposed amendment.
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