Legislation to Reduce Animal Testing Praised by American Humane Association

American Humane Association
Friday, 14 April 2000

The American Humane Association today praised the House introduction of legislation designed to reduce the number of animal tests performed each year. The legislation, introduced last night by Representatives Ken Calvert (R-CA) and Tom Lantos (D-CA) promotes the acceptance of alternative, non-animal based tests by federal agencies which require testing for product safety and effectiveness. Similar legislation has been introduced already in the Senate by Sen. Mike DeWine (S. 1495).

"This legislation will conserve scarce research funding and increase the use of consistent and more accurate research testing methods. It will also help ensure that the lives of millions of test animals are not taken needlessly," stated Rep. Calvert.

"This legislation is an important step forward in reducing the unnecessary use of animals in the testing of consumer products. We can have safe and effective alternate means of testing, and this legislation provides the framework. Animal testing methods still employed by the U.S. government are the equivalent of continuing to use a quill pen in the age of super computers. We need to bring our consumer safety testing into the 21st century!" Said Rep. Lantos.

"Last night's action means we are another step closer to ending needless suffering by animals. For years, the government has relied on the results of animal testing to ensure that a variety of products are safe for humans and the environment. However, non-animal based tests have been developed that can give the government the same information and confidence that a certain product is safe. With many of these tests already in place, there is no reason the United States government should require animal testing in certain situations. Representatives Calvert and Lantos are to be commended for introducing this bill. We are hopeful both chambers will act this year to help eliminate unnecessary animal testing," said Adele Douglass, Director of Public Policy for the American Humane Association

In 1993, the American Humane Association was a leader in passage of legislation which helped create the current the Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM). The purpose was to review non-animal based testing methods for assessing risk and make recommendations of whether or not federal agencies should accept these more humane tests. The legislation introduced last night would make ICCVAM a permanent standing committee under the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) so that no future director of NIEHS can dismantle the committee. The legislation also establishes guidelines, recommendations, and regulations that promote the government's acceptance of new and revised non-animal based toxicological tests when examining product safety and effectiveness. These alternatives are generally more predictive of adverse human health effects than current methods, and they may provide for improved animal well being or reduce or eliminate the need for animals.

For more information, or to contact American Humane Association, see their website at: www.americanhumane.org