DC Circuit Revives Lawsuit Regarding Humane Handling of Birds Not Bred for Research

The DC Circuit has reversed a district court’s dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the American Anti-Vivisection Society and the Avian Welfare Coalition against the United States Department of Agriculture that alleged that the agency’s failure to establish standards for the humane handling of birds not bred for use in research was arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act. The issue has been remanded to the lower court for briefing on whether such action was unreasonably delayed.