A Federal Agency Has Started To Return
Censored Animal Safety Records Online
By Peter Aldhous, BuzzFeed, Inc., February 20, 2017
Facing a barrage of public criticism, the US Department of Agriculture on
Friday started returning documents describing the number of animals used at
research facilities across the nation back online.
The agency also posted a limited number of reports describing inspections of
facilities for compliance with the 1966 Animal Welfare Act — but only for
federal research facilities, including the department’s own research
centers, and labs at Veterans Health Administration hospitals.
The vast majority of research facility inspection reports removed earlier
this month still remain offline. So do inspection reports for animal
breeders and facilities regulated under the Horse Protection Act.
Also still missing is the database that once let animal welfare groups,
researchers, and journalists download bulk data on animal research across
the US to get a detailed picture of trends in animal research across the
nation.
“The reports posted are part of a comprehensive review of the documents the
Agency removed from its website in early February and are in the same
redacted form as before,” said a statement emailed to users of the database
on Friday morning.
“We will continue posting documents over the next few weeks,” USDA
spokeswoman Tanya Espinosa told BuzzFeed News by email. However, she
declined to comment on whether the full database would be returned to
service.
The USDA provoked a storm of protest on Feb. 3, when it abruptly removed the
database and documents from the web. It suggested the move was taken to
protect “personal information.” However, later reports linked the decision
to a legal battle involving the USDA’s regulation of the Tennessee Walking
Horse industry. To get their horses to walk with the desired high-stepping
gait, trainers may apply caustic chemicals to the animals’ legs.
The animal welfare reports put back online cover the fiscal years 2013 to
2015. Research facilities should by now have sent in their 2016 reports on
animal use, including the numbers of animals used in experiments involving
unalleviated pain or distress. These have not been posted online.
“This agency is still unnecessarily withholding information from the
public,” said Michael Budkie of the advocacy group Stop Animal Exploitation
Now, in a statement emailed to reporters.
The USDA’s move to start reposting animal welfare documents online comes
just days after it was sued by other advocacy groups, including the People
for The Ethical Treatment of Animals, demanding that the information be
returned to public view.
“The agency has a duty under the law to restore all of the deleted records,
and to continue posting new records going forward,” PETA said in a statement
issued today. “PETA and its co-plaintiffs will continue to fight until it
complies with this duty.
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