USDA Faces ‘Impossible’ Task in Overseeing Lab Animal Welfare Amid Shrinking Workforce

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is struggling to enforce the Animal Welfare Act, which safeguards nearly 800,000 laboratory animals, as staffing and resources dwindle.

Over the past few years, APHIS has lost more than a third of its inspectors while the number of facilities under its oversight has doubled—from fewer than 8,000 to more than 17,000—largely due to new animal transport services and the addition of research birds to its mandate. Today, just 77 inspectors are responsible for monitoring thousands of labs, zoos, breeders, and transporters.

Further complicating matters, a 2024 U.S. Supreme Court ruling limits APHIS’s ability to levy fines without jury trials, removing a key enforcement tool. The agency has issued only one fine since the decision. Coupled with hiring freezes and potential budget cuts under the Trump administration’s proposed 2026 budget, APHIS officials warn they face an “impossible task.”

Advocates fear these pressures could lead the agency to outsource oversight to private organizations like AAALAC International, despite data showing AAALAC-accredited labs have a disproportionate share of severe USDA citations. Critics say this trend, combined with weakened federal enforcement, could jeopardize animal welfare nationwide.

As one APHIS manager put it: “We can’t protect these animals if we can’t enforce the Animal Welfare Act.”

(Source: Science: https://www.science.org/content/article/facing-impossible-workload-usda-struggles-oversee-lab-animal-welfare)