Good news: the USDA listened to activists who urged them not to implement a disastrous plan to allow labs to regulate themselves on animal welfare. The USDA had proposed allowing the AAALAC (Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International) to police the Animal Welfare Act in labs. This “third party” is a private organization with council-members from the very facilities the organization is accrediting. The AAALC would have kept their findings private.

Organizing for Animals Helped Prevent this Disaster

Amongst other things, the USDA was swayed by a vast majority of public comments opposing the project. Recently, many changes by government agencies that would affect animals and the environment have been deliberately slipped under the radar or unaccompanied by a press release. Reports have been redacted or removed from the USDA website. When activists pushed back they kept the accreditation changes in the public eye and kept the heat on public officials, forcing them to reconsider. Victories like these shows that battles can be won. There are so many animals at risk of abuse, mistreatment and death. And, unbelievable as it may seem, sometimes the power to help animals lies in the hands of a few. That’s why it’s important to organize for animals. Donations, actions and staying informed make a difference.

More from the Washington Post on this story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2018/05/17/usda-may-warn-some-facilities-when-animal-welfare-inspectors-are-coming/?utm_term=.cdb79dd431c9