Brooks Law Digest: Animal Testing/Research

In furtherance of the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s policy to “find alternatives to traditional animal testing that replace animals, reduce the number of animals tested, and decrease the pain and suffering in animals associated with testing household products,” the agency has announced the availability of proposed guidance on evaluating those alternative test methods. The agency is accepting comments on the proposed guidance until June 14, 2021.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has signed into law House Bill 1153 which will declare an emergency and authorize the Board of Regents to contract for the design and construction of a new dairy research and extension farm on the campus of South Dakota State University.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has signed into law Senate Bill 1417 which will require any animal testing facility that no longer has a need for a dog or a cat in its possession to offer such animal for adoption.

Oregon House Bill 3365 would prohibit the manufacture, distribution, or sale of a cosmetic developed through the use of animal testing. The bill contains exemptions for animal tests required by state or federal law. The bill also provides that noncomplying cosmetics “may be donated to a homeless shelter, hospital, animal shelter, corrections facility or emergency shelter” for use by individuals receiving services from such entities.

A Texas federal judge has denied Texas A&M’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by PETA alleging the University’s refusal to display ads placed by the nonprofit depicting dogs used in a research lab amounts to a violation of its First Amendment rights.

House Bill 1905, the Alternatives to Animals for Regulatory Fairness Act of 2021, would amend the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in order to “allow the sponsor of a new drug to use a non-animal test as an alternative to an animal test for purposes of demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of [the] drug.” The bill was previously introduced in 2020.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has signed into law Senate Bill 1379, the Humane Cosmetics Act, which prohibits conducting or contracting for cosmetic animal testing or manufacturing after January 1, 2022; importing any cosmetic or ingredient thereof if the manufacturer knew or reasonably should have known it was developed or manufactured using an animal test after January 1, 2022; and the sale of cosmetic products developed using animal tests after July 1, 2022.

House Bill 1744, the Humane Research and Testing Act of 2021, would amend the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Center for Alternatives to Animals in Research and Testing. The bill would require every Federal department or agency and any entity that receives federal funds for research and testing to report “the total number of animals used in federally funded research and testing…disaggregated by species” at any of their facilities and annually submit a public plan for reducing those numbers. The full text of the bill is available here.

Massachusetts House Bill 2424 and Senate Bill 1582 would prohibit “testing a product, product formulation, chemical, or ingredient” using a “traditional animal test method for which a valid alternative test method exists.” The provision would not apply to medical research.

New York Senate Bill 4839 would make it unlawful to manufacture, knowingly import for profit, sell, or offer for sale at retail a cosmetic if either the final product or any component thereof was developed or manufactured using animal testing.