Which agency enforces laws regulating animal use in research?

• A. USDA (United States Department of Agriculture)
• B. FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
• C. NIH (National Institutes of Health)
• D. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that in the United States the authority to enforce laws about how animals are cared for in research rests with the USDA under the Animal Welfare Act. This law sets minimum standards for humane care and treatment of warm-blooded animals used in research, teaching, testing, and exhibitions. The USDA’s Animal Care program conducts facility inspections, licenses, and enforcement actions to ensure those standards are followed, including corrective actions if problems are found. Institutions also have IACUCs to review and approve animal care and use protocols, but the enforcement and overall compliance oversight come from USDA.

Other agencies play different roles: NIH oversees compliance related to federally funded research through policy and oversight (not enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act itself); FDA and EPA regulate animal use within their specific domains—drug and device testing or environmental testing, respectively—but they are not the broad enforcement authority for all animal research care standards.