USDA Animal Care Updates its Policy on Veterinary Care

 

We have updated Policy 3 – Veterinary Care to make it more useful and clear to our inspectors and the regulated community.

Examples of our updates include the following:

 

                ▪ We have provided updates on the most current AVMA guidelines on euthanasia.

 

                ▪ We have clarified our position on pharmaceutical-grade substances.

 

                ▪ We have replaced the term “defanging” with “removal/reduction of canine teeth.”

 

We received 1,030 comments during the public comment period; we thank all of you who participated. As a result of comments we received, Policy 3 now contains a general statement under each section followed by a subsection geared toward specific types of regulated entities or individual circumstances, when appropriate.

 

To view the USDA Animal Care Policy Manual, which includes the updated Policy 3, please go to: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_welfare/policy.php.  

 

USDA Animal Care enforces the Animal Welfare Act – the federal law requiring that humane care and treatment be provided to certain warm-blooded animals that are: exhibited to the public; bred for commercial sale; used in biomedical research; or transported commercially.

 

The Animal Welfare Act’s regulations provide greater detail on how a regulated facility is to interpret the law, and it is our policies that serve as guidelines for interpreting the regulations.

 

 

At USDA Animal Care, ensuring the welfare of the animals we regulate is at the heart of everything we do.