APHIS Factsheet

Animal Care July 2005

The Animal Care

Program and the

U.S. Department

of Agriculture’s

Authority Under the

Animal Welfare Act:

Basic Questions and

Answers

Q. What is the Animal Welfare Act (AWA)?

A. The AWA is a Federal law that Congress passed

in 1966 and amended in 1970, 1976, 1985, 1990,

and 2002 to protect warmblooded animals used

in research, bred for commercial sale, exhibited to

the public, or commercially transported. The law

requires minimum standards of animal care to be

established and enforced.

Q. Who enforces the AWA?

A. The Secretary of Agriculture is charged with

enforcing and administering the AWA. This includes

developing and enforcing regulations, issuing

licenses, conducting inspections and investigations,

and overseeing administrative law cases, including

assessing fines and suspending or revoking licenses.

 The Secretary has delegated the authority to

develop and enforce regulations, license and register

facilities, and conduct inspections and investigations

to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

(APHIS). The Animal Care (AC) program manages

AWA activities and receives support from other

APHIS program areas to conduct investigations and

develop regulations.

Q. Where do the AWA regulations come from?

How does the U.S. Department of Agriculture

(USDA) interpret the AWA?

A. The AWA gives USDA authority to set and

enforce standards and ensure the care and humane

treatment of covered animals. The regulations

establish the specifics of how USDA enforces the

law by defining terms, setting licensing and registration

requirements, and setting standards of care.

 

 When a regulation is created or changed, USDA

will notify the public that it is considering new or

changed rules, request public comments, and publish

proposed and final rules. These notices are

published in the Federal Register. Links to the regulations can be found on the AC publications Web 

page at 

<http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/publications.html>.

Recently published rules and notices can be found

on the APHIS Web page at

<www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html>.

 AC also develops policies to provide additional

guidance in understanding the regulations. These

policies are available on the AC Web site at <www.

aphis.usda.gov/ac/polmanpdf.html>.

Q. Why does USDA settle AWA cases out of

court?

A. Offering facilities the option of settling out of

court instead of being officially charged with AWA

violations allows APHIS to resolve more cases in

less time and provides for greater flexibility in punitive

actions. In out-of-court settlements, part of the

agreement may include monetary fines being directed

toward facility improvements, employee training,

or donation to a nonprofit organization benefiting the

welfare of animals.

 When an Administrative Law Judge imposes a

fine for AWA violations, all the money goes into the

U.S. Treasury, not animal welfare programs. Many

settlements state that the facility neither admits nor

denies violating the Act.

Q. Why doesn’t USDA confiscate more animals?

A. The Secretary of Agriculture has the authority

to confiscate from a regulated facility animals that

are suffering. Once APHIS has evidence of such a

situation, a notice of intent to confiscate is given to

the facility. If they fail to remedy the situation in a

short time, authorization is obtained from the APHIS

Administrator to confiscate the animals in question.

It is not uncommon for APHIS to negotiate with a

facility to surrender the animals directly to the outside

organization to simplify the progress.

 Under its authority to confiscate suffering animals,

APHIS interprets “suffering” to mean the animal

was in any condition causing pain or distress

that is not alleviated. For more information on confiscation of animals, see Animal Care Policy 8 on the

Web at

<http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/policy/policy8.pdf>.
Q. What’s the difference between licensed and

registered? Why doesn’t USDA close down more 

facilities?

A. Dealers or exhibitors using animals covered under 

the AWA must be licensed to sell or display animals. 

To obtain a license, a facility must first be inspected 

and be in full compliance with the AWA standards 

and regulations. APHIS charges a modest fee for 

the license, which must be renewed every year. A 

licensed facility may have its privileges suspended, 

revoked, or be disqualified from obtaining a license. 

These licensing actions would effectively “shut down” 

a facility, but only for regulated animals and activities.

 Research and transportation facilities are registered with USDA. They are not subject to inspection 

prior to registration, but will undergo periodic

inspections while registered. There is no fee associated with registration and it must be renewed every 

3 years. Registered facilities may receive fines and 

cease-and-desist orders, but USDA cannot suspend,

revoke, or prohibit their registration.

 For more information on whether a facility should

be licensed or registered, please see Program Aid

1117, “Licensing and Registration Under the Animal

Welfare Act” on the Web at

<http://www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/pubs/l&rawa.pdf> or

<http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/awlicreg.html>.

Q. Why doesn’t USDA conduct inspections more

often?

A. The AWA requires that USDA inspect research

facilities at least once per year. For other facilities,

AC uses a risk-based inspection system. Each facility

is rated as low, moderate, or high risk. Moderate-risk

facilities would be inspected about once per year; 

low-risk less often; high-risk more often. No matter 

what the facility’s rating, inspectors have the option 

of inspecting as often as they feel necessary and 

resources allow. This system allows inspectors

to focus their attention on facilities that need

assistance coming into compliance with the AWA or

need to be monitored more often, so that they can

conduct inspections that are more in-depth instead of

just more frequent. Inspectors will also follow up on

legitimate complaints from private citizens.

Q. What animals are covered under USDA’s AWA

authority?

A. The AWA covers all warmblooded animals used

in regulated activities. Reptiles, fish, amphibians,

insects, and other invertebrates are coldblooded animals and not covered under the AWA. The Act does

not provide authority to regulate animals used for

food and fiber or for agricultural research; therefore,

only farm animals used for biomedical research are

covered. 

 

 The AWA’s definition of animal means any live or 

dead dog, cat, nonhuman primate, guinea pig, hamster, rabbit, or any other warmblooded animal, which

is being used, or is intended for use for research,

teaching, experimentation, or exhibition purposes, or

as a pet. This term excludes birds, rats of the genus

Rattus, and mice genus Mus, bred for use in research;

horses not used for research purposes; and other

farm animals, such as but not limited to, livestock

or poultry used or intended for use as food or fiber,

or livestock or poultry used or intended for use for

improving animal nutrition, breeding, management, or

production efficiency, or for improving the quality of

food or fiber. With respect to a dog, the term means

all dogs, including those used for hunting, security, or

breeding purposes.

 Animals sold in retail facilities are also exempt

from the regulations, except wild or exotic animals.

For more information on what types of facilities are

exempt from coverage, please see Program Aid 1117,

“Licensing and Registration Under the Animal Welfare

Act” <http://www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/pubs/l&rawa.

pdf> or http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/awlicreg.html).

Q. What is administrative court?

A. Administrative law is neither criminal nor civil.

The USDA maintains its own court system to hear

complaints regarding violations of the administrative

laws it enforces. Hearings are presided over by 

Administrative Law Judges for the Secretary of

Agriculture.

Q. Can an AWA violation ever be a criminal

offense?

A. Violations of certain sections of the AWA are

only pursued as criminal, such as those related

to animal fighting. Others may include fraudulent

records pertaining to the acquisition and disposition

of animals. In these cases, the USDA Office of the

Inspector General usually conducts investigations

and the U.S. Department of Justice prosecutes them.

These cases are not overseen by Administrative Law

Judges. Outcomes in criminal cases may include a

prison sentence and/or fines.

Q. Does having a USDA AWA license exempt a

person from State or local animal care laws?

A. No. Federal laws are administered under a different system. Some State or local laws may require

that a person have a USDA license to own certain

animals, but USDA will only grant the license if the

person is conducting regulated activities. If a State

also requires a license or permit, that does not affect

the need for a USDA license or registration. A person 

mistreating an animal could be prosecuted both under 

the AWA for mishandling if he or she is conducting
covered activities and under local cruelty or 

mistreatment laws.

 If a person or facility owns certain endangered or

threatened species or imports or exports animals, a

permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)

may also be required. Contact FWS or State or local

government for questions about their authority and

requirements.

For More Information

 More information on the AC program and the

AWA and all publications are available on the Internet

at http://www.aphis.usda.ac. You may also get information and copies of publications from one of the

following AC offices:

 Headquarters Office

 4700 River Road, Unit 84

 Riverdale, MD 20737–1234

 Phone: (301) 734–7833

 Fax: (301) 734–4978

 E-mail: ace@aphis.usda.gov

 Eastern Region

 920 Main Campus Drive

 Suite 200

 Raleigh, NC 27606

 Phone: (919) 855–7100

 Fax: (919) 855–7123

 Western Region

 Fort Collins

 2150 Centre Avenue

 Building B, Mail Stop #3W11

 Fort Collins, CO 80526

 Pho ne: (970) 494–7478

 Fax: (970) 472–9558

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, 

national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital 

status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, 

genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part 

of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance 

program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons 

with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) 

should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice 

and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, 

Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W. , 

Washington , D.C. 20250–9410 , or call (800) 795–3272 (voice) or 

(202) 720–6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and 

employer. 

United States Department of Agriculture • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Safeguarding American Agriculture