I think there is a certain part of the U.S.D.A. that is just kind of worn down. W. Ron DeHaven, deputy administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the branch of the Agriculture Department that oversees animals in research, says the agency is merely trying to enforce the law. There's a perception in the biomedical-research community we are taking a much more proactive stance than in the past. Animal-rights activists themselves, after years of defeats in legal and political battles with researchers, are reluctant to boast of success, at least until they see the proposed changes go into effect. The proposed changes in the Animal Welfare Act, the primary federal law for protecting animals used in research, comes as university officials say the use of such animals will rise sharply over the next five years, mostly to build upon the fast-growing field of genomic studies.
Many institutions plan to double or triple the number of rodents they study.
With animal-based studies increasing, scientists are extremely anxious about the Agriculture Department's proposal to change the way researchers classify pain and distress in animal experiments. The department is responding to strong pressure from the Humane Society of the United States, which began a campaign this year to refine the reporting requirements for researchers who work with animals. The changes could compel researchers to do more to gauge how much stress animals are experiencing. A period of public comment on the proposed new regulations ends on November 7. Groups including the Animal Welfare Institute, which is based here, argue that defining distress is necessary to take steps to reduce the trauma that laboratory animals experience, and as a result would promote better research.