USDA abruptlypurges animal welfare information from its website
By Karin BrulliardAnimalia
February 3 at 6:57PM
(Gerry Broome/AP)
The U.S.Department of Agriculture on Friday abruptly removed inspection reports andother information from its website about the treatment of animals atthousands of research laboratories, zoos, dog breeding operations andother facilities.
In a statement, the USDAs Animal and Plant HealthInspection Service cited court rulings and privacy laws for the decision,which it said was the result of a comprehensive review that took place overthe past year. It said the removed documents, which also included recordsof enforcement actions against violators of the Animal Welfare Act and theHorse Protection Act, would now be accessible only via Freedom of InformationAct Requests. Those can take years to be approved.
We remain equally committed to beingtransparent and responsive to our stakeholders informational needs, andmaintaining the privacy rights of individuals with whom we come in contact,the statement said.
The records thathad been available were frequently used by animal welfare advocatesto monitor government regulation of animal treatment at circuses,scientific labs and zoos. Members of the public could also use the departmentsonline database to search for information about dog breeders, as could petstores. Seven states currently require pet stores to source puppies frombreeders with clean USDA inspection reports, according to the Humane Society ofthe United States a requirement that could now be impossible to meet.
Animal welfare organizations quickly condemned the removal of the information,which they called unexpected and said would allow animal abuse to gounchecked.
The USDA actioncloaks even the worst puppy mills in secrecy and allows abusers of Tennesseewalking horses, zoo animals and lab animals to hide even the worst trackrecords in animal welfare, said John Goodwin, senior director of the HumaneSocietys Stop Puppy Mills Campaign.
In a statement,Kathy Guillermo, the senior vice president of People for the Ethical Treatmentof Animals, called it a shameful attempt to keep the public from knowing whenand which laws and regulations have been violated. Many federally registeredand licensed facilities have long histories of violations that have causedterrible suffering.
It is unclearwhether the decision to remove the animal-related records was driven by newlyhired Trump administration officials. When asked questions about the change, aUSDA-APHIS representative referred back to the departments statement. TheAssociated Press reported that a department spokeswoman declinedto say whether the removal was temporary or permanent.
By Karin BrulliardAnimalia
February 3 at 6:57PM
(Gerry Broome/AP)
The U.S.Department of Agriculture on Friday abruptly removed inspection reports andother information from its website about the treatment of animals atthousands of research laboratories, zoos, dog breeding operations andother facilities.
In a statement, the USDAs Animal and Plant HealthInspection Service cited court rulings and privacy laws for the decision,which it said was the result of a comprehensive review that took place overthe past year. It said the removed documents, which also included recordsof enforcement actions against violators of the Animal Welfare Act and theHorse Protection Act, would now be accessible only via Freedom of InformationAct Requests. Those can take years to be approved.
We remain equally committed to beingtransparent and responsive to our stakeholders informational needs, andmaintaining the privacy rights of individuals with whom we come in contact,the statement said.
The records thathad been available were frequently used by animal welfare advocatesto monitor government regulation of animal treatment at circuses,scientific labs and zoos. Members of the public could also use the departmentsonline database to search for information about dog breeders, as could petstores. Seven states currently require pet stores to source puppies frombreeders with clean USDA inspection reports, according to the Humane Society ofthe United States a requirement that could now be impossible to meet.
Animal welfare organizations quickly condemned the removal of the information,which they called unexpected and said would allow animal abuse to gounchecked.
The USDA actioncloaks even the worst puppy mills in secrecy and allows abusers of Tennesseewalking horses, zoo animals and lab animals to hide even the worst trackrecords in animal welfare, said John Goodwin, senior director of the HumaneSocietys Stop Puppy Mills Campaign.
In a statement,Kathy Guillermo, the senior vice president of People for the Ethical Treatmentof Animals, called it a shameful attempt to keep the public from knowing whenand which laws and regulations have been violated. Many federally registeredand licensed facilities have long histories of violations that have causedterrible suffering.
It is unclearwhether the decision to remove the animal-related records was driven by newlyhired Trump administration officials. When asked questions about the change, aUSDA-APHIS representative referred back to the departments statement. TheAssociated Press reported that a department spokeswoman declinedto say whether the removal was temporary or permanent.