Home Forums *News The Humane Research and Testing Act of 2021

The Humane Research and Testing Act of 2021

Home Forums *News The Humane Research and Testing Act of 2021

    • Barbara Stagno

      Citizens for Alternatives to Animal Research and Experimentation (CAARE) was founded on the principle that the fundamental limitations of animal research, coupled with advances in technology, make animal research outdated, unethical and a hindrance to medical progress. Our consistent efforts in this area led to the introduction of powerful legislation in 2021 to address this systemic problem.

      If passed, the Humane Research and Testing Act of 2021 (H.R. 1744) led by Reps. Chris Pappas (D-NH) and Vern Buchanan (R-FL) will establish the National Center for Alternatives to Animals in Research under the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund and promote scientifically superior methods to replace animals.
      The bill authorizes funding to promote non-animal methods of research, educate and train scientists to apply these methods, and establish research collaborations to facilitate exceptional research.

      The Humane Research and Testing Act also requires NIH to disclose numbers of all animals used in federally funded experiments – something that is not currently being done – so that progress at reducing those numbers can be effectively planned and measured.

      NIH was mandated to reduce animal testing in 1993 under the NIH Revitalization Act (Public Law 103-43) but unfortunately, little progress has been made. The law calls for NIH to “conduct or support research into methods of biomedical research and experimentation that do not require the use of animals,” as well as for “reducing the number of animals used in research.” H.R. 1744 will amend the Revitalization Act, requiring the NIH to record and make public the numbers of all vertebrate animals used in federally funded experiments and implement a plan to reduce these numbers, to be reported bi-annually. (Every two years).

      Increasingly, experts in science, medicine, academia and government recognize that animals are poor predictors for human biology. Less than 10%  of new drugs and treatments that test successfully in animals benefit human patients, amounting to lost opportunities for vital cures and billions of dollars each year. One analysis from 2015 reported that over $28 billion is spent on preclinical research every year, the vast majority of which is conducted using animals.

      Overreliance on outdated animal experiments continues despite the existence of innovative, human-relevant alternatives such as organoids, organ chips, computational modeling, imaging technologies and much more. Increasing funding for and training scientists in the use of these non-animal alternatives will revolutionize medicine while ending pain, confinement and suffering for millions of animals.

    • Stephen Riffle

      Hi Barbara,

      Any chance you know what the status is for the Humane Research and Testing Act as of June of 2022? Curious if there’s been any movement on it and what the path to passage looks like. Any light you can shed would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

       

    • Barbara Stagno

      Hi Stephen,

      CAARE has teamed up with the Center for a Humane Economy to work on passing the FDA Modernization Act. Given the timing, with the FDA’s five-year reauthorization of the user fee law, it seemed prudent to put that effort first.

      Thus our active work on the Humane Research and Testing Act is on the “back burner” for now, but the plan is to redirect our attention to it afterwards. Given that, it would be unlikely to pass in 2022 and will need to be reintroduced again next year. We plan to pursue that.

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