Include all nonhuman species under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA)

The Animal Welfare Act is the only federal law in the United States that regulates the treatment of animals. Although the term “animal” implies all nonhuman species, this is not the case. The law excludes the regulation for the care and treatment of livestock, as well as other farm animals that are used for meat. Mice, rats and birds that are used for research purposes and all cold blooded species such as fish, invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles are also exempted from the law. Every year in the United States around nine billion farm animals are slaughtered for meat and 95% of the animals that are used in laboratories are mice and rats. The animals go through extreme suffering and pain over the course of their short lives because they are not covered under the Animal Welfare Act.