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Bill would protect farm animals in research

BredHeifer-300wFarm animals used in research at federal facilities would receive new protections against mistreatment and neglect under legislation introduced in both houses of Congress.

The bill aims to extend the federal Animal Welfare Act to shield cows, pigs, sheep and other animals used for agricultural research at federal facilities. The act, which became law in 1966, excluded those animals, focusing largely on cats and dogs used in laboratory research.

Sponsors of the new legislation, called the Aware Act, said they were prompted by an article last month in The New York Times that raised concerns about the treatment of farm animals at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center at Clay Center, Nebraska. The center is a unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Humane Society of the United States has expressed its support for the legislation.

 

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