Changes

The Senate accepted an amendment introduced by the late Jesse Helms, a republican senator from N. Carolina; to bar the [[U.S. Department of Agriculture]] from including mice, rats and birds (and cold blood animals such as reptiles) under the AWA. These animals account for (approximately) 95% of all laboratory animals. <ref>Humane Society of the U.S. [http://www.hsus.org/press_and_publications/press_releases/us_senate_passes_farm_bill_addressing_animal_fighting_puppy_mills_farm_animals_and_bears.html U.S. Senate Passes Farm Bill Addressing Animal Fighting, Puppy Mills, Farm Animals and Bears], February 2002</ref> See also [[Animal testing]], section 2.1.

:''Failure to include the Helms amendment in the final version of the bill will force the USDA to propose a rule by which rats, mice and birds will be brought under the agency of the AWA, a costly endeavor for taxpayers and a regulation nightmare for scientists.'' <ref>NAIA Trust [http://www.naiatrust.org/actionalert_helms.htm Action Alert: Amendment to the Farm Bill: Support the Helms Amendment to the Farm Bill and protect biomedical research involving rats, mice, and birds], accessed February 2009</ref>

The NAIA does not elaborate on why humane standards should be a ''regulation nightmare'' nor its uncharacteristic concern for taxpayers. The NAIA lobbies aggressively against spay/neuter, breeding restrictions and licensing fees, all of which ease tax burdens. Every year, communities spend millions of dollars and vast amounts of volunteer hours coping with surplus pets, including; cruelty investigations and rescuing and sheltering abandoned and homeless animals. <ref>HSUS [http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/pet_overpopulation_and_ownership_statistics/the_crisis_of_pet_overpopulation.html The Crisis of Pet Overpopulation], May 2007</ref> Industries represented by the NAIA such as factory farming, rodeos, foie gras, hunting, fur ranching, trapping and [[animal testing]] are tax payer subsidized. <ref>Mark Hawthorn, [http://www.opednews.com/articles/2/opedne_mark_haw_080226_spoiler_alert_3a_10_th.htm Spoiler Alert: 10 Things Animal Exploiters Do Not Want You to Know] Feb 2008, author of Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism, ISBN 0300104669</ref> In the fiscal year ending in 2005, seven government agencies funded over 28,937 projects for experiments on 27 species, including: monkeys, dogs, cats and rodents. These included: 1200 separate projects (at up to $495,600,000) examining drug addiction. 778 projects studying ''neural information processing'' in 11 species racked up approximately $321,314,000. No experiment, however ridiculous, useless or painful; is illegal. The majority of animals used in experimentation receive no protection under current laws. '''Government funded [[animal testing]] costs U.S. taxpayers over $12 billion annually.''' <ref>Stop Animal Exploitation Now! [http://www.all-creatures.org/saen/fact-anex-2007.html Animal Experimentation in the United States], 2007</ref> See also [[U.S. Government's War on Animals]].

See also [[National Animal Interest Alliance]], section 3, on ''Lobbying against humane legislation & animal advocacy groups.''