Sec. 2. Findings

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Congress finds the following: The National Institutes of Health has supported life-saving research that has greatly improved the health and well-being not only of Americans but also of people around the world. Much of this research has relied on animals. It is estimated that between 17 million and 22 million animals are used annually in the United States in research, education, and testing. At the same time, however, a great deal of research that utilized animal studies yielded no benefits for humans.

For example, according to NIH itself, approximately 30 percent of promising medications have failed in human clinical trials because they are found to be toxic despite promising pre-clinical studies in animal models. About 60 percent of candidate drugs fail due to lack of efficacy . The laboratory use of animals has also long been an issue of public concern because animals will, in most cases, experience fear, pain, disease or surgery, and early death. Much more has become known about the unsuitability of animal models for studying human disease and many more humane, cost-effective, and scientifically suitable non-animal methods are available.

Under the system of oversight established by the Animal Welfare Act ( Public Law 89–544 ), researchers are supposed to consider alternatives to animal use or painful procedures and should not unnecessarily duplicate previous experiments. However, oversight is generally weak and little heed is paid to the use of non-animal methods or the avoidance of duplication, thereby unnecessarily subjecting animals to pain, suffering, and death. A system of active incentives is needed to encourage researchers to utilize humane, cost-effective, and scientifically suitable non-animal methods.

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Pub. L. 89-544

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Sec. 2

Findings

Pub. L.Pub. L. 89-544

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