Several bills now pending before Congress would potentially have great impact on the conduct of biomedical research. Two of these bills would make it easier for law enforcement agencies to arrest and prosecute individuals who damage or disrupt animal research, and the other two would prevent Class B dealers from providing random source dogs and cats for use in research.

Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act

S. 1926, introduced by Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) on 27 October 2005, and the related H.R. 4239, introduced by Representative Thomas Petri (R-WI) on 4 November 2005, both known as the 'Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act,' will “provide the Department of Justice the necessary authority to apprehend, prosecute, and convict individuals committing animal enterprise terror1,2.”

The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act rewrites federal criminal code to prohibit anyone from traveling in interstate or foreign commerce or using the mail system to damage or disrupt an animal enterprise (e.g., animal breeders, research institutes, zoos, animal shelters, etc.). The Act would make it an offense to intentionally damage property, cause or threaten to cause serious bodily harm, or conspire or attempt to do so.

The bill outlines penalties for economic damage, bodily harm, and death resulting from Animal Enterprise Terrorism and authorizes restitution “(1) for the reasonable cost of repeating any experimentation that was interrupted or invalidated as a result of such offense; (2) the loss of food production or farm income reasonably attributable to such offense; and (3) for any other economic damage, including any losses or costs caused by economic disruption, resulting from such offense.”

Pet Safety and Protection Act of 2005

The Pet Safety and Protection Act of 2005 was introduced on 17 February 2005 by Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI) as S. 451 (ref. 3) and on 27 April 2006 by Representative Philip English (R-PA) as H.R. 5229 (ref. 4). The intent of the bills is to “amend the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) to ensure that all dogs and cats used by research facilities are obtained legally.”

This Act would bar the sales of random source animals of Class B dealers to research facilities. It would amend the AWA list of permissible sources of dogs and cats used by research facilities to include dogs and cats obtained from: a licensed dealer that bred and raised that animal; a publicly owned and operated pound or shelter registered with the USDA, a person who bred and raised the dog or cat and owned it for at least one year, and a research facility licensed by the USDA.