animal welfare act
The Silver Spring Monkeys Case was not only the one that launched PETA, but has also brought about amendments to the Animal Welfare Act.
|
[PETA, The Silver Spring Monkeys: The Case That Launched PETA]
|
"Despite the countless animals killed each year in laboratories worldwide, most countries have grossly inadequate regulatory measures in place to protect animals from suffering and distress or to prevent them from being used when a non-animal approach is readily available. In the U.S., the most commonly used species in laboratory experiments (mice, rats, birds, reptiles, and amphibians) are specifically exempted from even the minimal protections of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA).(19) Many laboratories that use only these species are not required by law to provide animals with pain relief or veterinary care, to search for and consider alternatives to animal use, to have an institutional committee review proposed experiments, or to be inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) or any other entity. Some estimates indicate that as many as 800 U.S. laboratories are not subject to federal laws and inspections because they experiment exclusively on mice, rats, and other animals whose use is largely unregulated.(20)"
(PETA.org, Animal Experimentation Overview) |
The AWA was amended in 1985, only 5 years after PETA was formed. Since this accomplishment, PETA has continued to improve the treatment of animals.
"The investigation that launched PETA, the Silver Springs Monkey’s case, led to the U.S.’s first-ever arrest and criminal conviction of an animal experimenter for cruelty to animals, the first confiscation of abused animals from a laboratory, and the first U.S. Supreme Court victory for animals used in experiments. It even led to landmark additions to the Animal Welfare Act." -Emily Lavender (See full interview under "Experts")