Gotta make sure we’re treatin’ these dolphins right. Dolphins are nice. Photo: Andy Tootell
It just got a lot more difficult to track violations of the Animal Welfare Act. A federal online database tracking violations of the act, which regulates the treatment of animals used for exhibition and research, disappeared last week. The removal of the database prevents researchers, investigators, and the informed public from easily accessing information about abuses without FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests. And the purge of public information comes after the US Department of Agriculture recently made headlines for getting their screen time taken away by the new administration. USDA states they removed the records due to privacy concerns. Advocates for freedom of public information assume ulterior motives.
In 1966 the federal government signed the Animal Welfare Act into law to regulate the treatment of animals in research, transport, and by dealers. It’s to credit for legal action against a variety of wrongdoers. From private zoos mishandling elephants for exhibition to the use of chimpanzees for research, the act has defined the abusive limits of America’s relationship to captive animals. It’s the USDA’s job to enforce the act, but others have often contributed significantly to the fight against abuse. In many cases, the press is to credit for utilizing the abuse database to fully investigate the extent of violations. One media investigation even led to an extension of the act’s power. And when the violations are particularly severe, animal lives hang in the balance. In other words, time is of the essence. With the purge of the database, experts fear how investigations will be lengthened by the timely FOIA process. Most estimate that what used to take a few minutes on the USDA website will now take months.
In recent years, the public has become increasingly interested in animal welfare. From cage-free to cruelty-free, some consumers consider ethical cost as much as a product’s price tag. But while your choices at the grocery store might seem like a drop in the ocean of the agricultural machine, the abuses now purged from the USDA website were not. These were violations of a federal act and in some cases criminal.
Dan Ashe of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums stated in a press release that the act exists to set basic standards. Treatment failing to live up to those standards is abuse. The AZA certifies 232 zoos and aquariums that are proud to exceed the act’s basic requirements. And 186 million aquarium and zoo-goers should be confident that animals are being treated humanely in certified facilities. All the while, Ashe states, “This trust and confidence is eroded by efforts that are seemingly intended to shield information from public view.”
