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ACTION ALERT
When the farm bill is brought to the floor today (July 26) it will include an amendment that could have negative repercussions on medical research involving animals and the ability of physicians to evaluate medical devices.
Please call your Representative immediately and ask him/her to oppose the Doyle-Israel Amendment #24.
Background information is provided below. For the positions of other organizations that oppose Amendment #24, click here.
TAKING ACTION:
§ Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to the office of your Representative.
If you do not know who your Representative is, go to www.house.gov and enter your home zip code in the search box at the upper left hand corner of the page. You can also go directly from the search results page to your Representative’s website to get the telephone number of his/her Washington office.
§ Tell the receptionist you want your Representative to oppose one of the amendments to the farm bill.
§ Either the receptionist will ask take your message or else refer you to another staffer. The message you want to deliver is the following:
“I am asking Representative (NAME) to oppose the Doyle-Israel amendment (#24) to the farm bill the animal welfare problems it is intended to solve are already addressed under current law and regulation. I am concerned because if this amendment is passed, its provisions would have significant negative impacts on research.”
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Doyle-Israel Amendment #24 consists of these provisions:
· Eliminate USDA-licensed Class “B” dealers as a source of older and genetically diverse dogs and cats. These are non-purpose bred animals that are needed for certain pre-clinical research on conditions such as heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and breathing disorders such as SIDS.
· Require pounds and shelters that wish to make unwanted animals available for research, teaching, or testing to register with the USDA and comply with Animal Welfare Act requirements. Because this regulatory burden would fall only on pounds that make unwanted animals available for research, it would create a disincentive for them to do so.
These two provisions would be to make it virtually impossible to obtain older and genetically diverse dogs and cats for research.
· Ban demonstrations involving live animals for marketing medical devices. Doctors may find it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of devices if they cannot see them in operation.
· Create an onerous system for calculating penalties for Animal Welfare Violations that goes far beyond the recommendations of the 2005 report of the USDA Inspector General.
If you have questions, contact APS Director of Government Relations and Science Policy Alice Ra’anan.