USDA Animal Care – Animal Welfare Act and Animal Welfare Regulations (Blue Book, July 2023)

Issued July 2023. Passed by Congress in 1966, the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) sets general standards for humane care and treatment that must be provided for certain animals that are bred for commercial sale, sold sight unseen (Internet sales), exhibited to the public, used in biomedical research, or transported commercially. Congress assigned the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) the responsibility for enforcing the AWA. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is the agency within USDA responsible for ensuring this occurs. APHIS has published the Animal Welfare Act and Animal Welfare Regulations, known as the “Blue Book,” as a tool to improve compliance among our licensees and registrants and to enhance the consistency of inspections by our field inspectors. The Blue Book consolidates into one source the AWA and the applicable regulations and standards. Text was pulled directly from two official sources: the Animal Welfare Act [United States Code, Title 7 (Agriculture), Chapter 54 (Transportation, Sale, and Handling of Certain Animals), Sections 2131- 2159]; and the Animal Welfare Regulations [Code of Federal Regulations, Title 9 (Animals and Animal Products), Chapter 1 (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Department of Agriculture), Subchapter A (Animal Welfare), Parts 1-4]. Every effort has been made to ensure that this book is accurate. The AWA is a Federal law; the associated regulations interpret the law into enforceable standards. USDA can amend existing regulations and/or create new regulations, but only Congress can change the actual law. Prior to altering the regulations in any way, APHIS publicizes the proposed rule and encourages interested parties to provide comments. All comments are reviewed before determining a final course of action.