Senators Urge USDA To Restore Animal Cruelty Data To Website

"Sen. Ray Lesniak and Assemblyman Dan Benson announced Tuesday that they will revise S-63 and its companion bill, A-2338, to prohibit breeders from sending animals into New Jersey if their inspection records are not posted on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's website.

On February 3, two weeks after the Trump administration took office, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) removed public access to a database documenting outcomes of investigations of almost 8,000 facilities that legally keep animals, such as research facilities, zoos, pet stores. He is one of 18 senators who sent the USDA a letter asking for the records to be restored.

'Animal lovers and all Americans deserve access to public information about animal research labs and puppy mill operators - those facts are critical to stopping inhumane treatment of animals', Wyden said. The suit was filed by PETA; the Beagle Freedom Project; Born Free USA; the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine; and Delcianna Winders, a Harvard Animal Law & Policy fellow.

Removing the animal welfare documents violates the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), claims the lawsuit.

She noted, 'APHIS continues to work to balance the need for transparency with rules protecting individual privacy'.

Amid public outcry, a spokesperson told Science Magazine further explained a few days later: 'APHIS is now involved in litigation concerning, among other issues, information posted on the agency's website'.

'Our lawsuit seeks to compel the USDA to reinstate the records, which it had no right to remove from its website in the first place', plaintiff Winders said in a statement."