USDA to Expand Animal Testing Regulations

WASHINGTON — Under intense legal pressure from animal rights activists, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reluctantly agreed to expand its regulation of research animals to include mice, rats and birds for the first time.

The move has infuriated some biomedical researchers and patient support groups, who claim it could cost the nation hundreds of millions of dollars in paperwork costs and slow the search for cures.

Under the terms of an out-of-court settlement reached late last week, the USDA will start a formal rule-making process to spell out minimum standards of care for the tens of millions of rodents and birds that researchers use in their labs.

The agreement, which must gain final approval from the U.S. District Court, marks a hard-won victory for animal activists, who for more than a decade have pursued legal avenues aimed at bringing rodents and birds under the 1966 Animal Welfare Act’s protections. The act requires the USDA to promulgate rules protecting all warmblooded animals used for research, testing, experimentation and other purposes.

Rodents comprise the majority of animals used in research, and their numbers are expected to increase significantly as scientists use sophisticated tools to create breeds afflicted with syndromes that mimic human diseases.