The Department of Agriculture's Animal Welfare Program

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) activities under the 1970 Animal Welfare Act, which authorizes a program that is designed to ensure the humane care and treatment of certain warm-blooded animals. GAO noted that USDA has not established criteria for the amount and type of training needed by animal welfare inspectors. Further, neither the act nor USDA have specified a required inspection frequency. The average inspection frequency in the six states GAO visited varied greatly. If Congress decides to continue funding the program, GAO believes it should require USDA to make an overall assessment of the program. The assessment should include: (1) a review of the program's results achieved to date; (2) development of criteria for the number of inspections needed to ensure compliance and for the amount and type of training needed by inspectors; and (3) a review of the adequacy of program guidance given to inspectors.