United States · Bill · HR
H.R. 4406 (97th)
A bill to amend the Animal Welfare Act to insure the humane treatment of laboratory animals.
Introduced
4 August 1981
Last action
—
Status
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Sponsors
—
Subjects
Discovery layer
Source updated
3 June 2026
Summary
Amends the Animal Welfare Act to require any research facility using live animals for research, testing, teaching, or for the production of medical or veterinary products to utilize certain methods of research and testing which minimize the pain inflicted upon such animals. Defines pain for the purposes of the Act to mean not only hurtful immediate physical sensations but also debilitation and significant physical and behavioral distress. Includes within the humane standards for animals transported in commerce the requirement that such animals be provided with space for normal exercise. Permits elementary and secondary schools to keep live animals for observational studies not involving pain without registering with the Secretary of Health and Human Services provided that they are kept under humane conditions. Requires research facilities to establish and maintain animal care committees which shall be responsible for the care and use of such animals in accordance with this Act. Directs the Secretary to appoint an advisory committee on the humane treatment of laboratory animals. Subjects research facilities to criminal penalties for violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.
Timeline
No timeline events have been ingested for this record yet.
Votes
No vote records are attached yet.
Versions
No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.
Documents
1 official file
Introduced in House
summary · EN · 4 August 1981
Sponsors
No sponsors or actors listed by the source.
Related records
No cross-record relationships stored yet.
Sources
PoliticalRepo is an index and interpretation layer, not the authoritative legal source.
- Official source: https://www.congress.gov/bill/97th-congress/house-bill/4406
- Open data entity: https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/97/hr/4406