I am writing to request that you reject any changes to regulations that currently govern the care and treatment of animals in laboratories, including those compiled in the 2017 report by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), et al.

Current proposals by the pro-animal experimentation community are using language in the 21st Century Cures Act to push for less transparency, fewer to no inspections and less oversight for animals in laboratories. Reducing accountability contradicts the will of the American public, which funds most animal research, and would lead to even more animal suffering. This is blatantly unacceptable.

Any efforts to harmonize policies and regulations should in no way compromise the welfare of animals in laboratories. If laboratories are already providing adequate care, as they insist they are, then they should have no problem with existing oversight, including unannounced inspections, instead of asking to reduce or eliminate these methods of oversight.

It is well documented that animal research is costly, time-consuming and of limited use for human medicine. If we want to reduce the regulatory burden on research, we need greater efforts toward replacing animal research, not compromising animal welfare by removing critical oversight.