The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that it will discontinue its “teachable moments” program that it implemented in 2016. This is good news for animals covered by the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). 

The AWA was enacted in 1966 and regulates the treatment of animals by dealers and in research, testing, exhibition, and transport. The AWA defines “animal” to include “any live or dead dog, cat, monkey (nonhuman primate mammal), guinea pig, hamster, rabbit, or such other warm-blooded animal, as the Secretary may determine is being used, or is intended for use, for research, testing, experimentation, or exhibition purposes, or as a pet.” However, the definition excludes a large number of animals, including farm animals such as livestock and poultry used for food, fiber, and other purposes; and birds, rats, and mice bred for research. 

The estimated nine billion land animals slaughtered for food in the U.S. each year are not protected by the AWA. Ninety-five percent of the animals used in research are not protected by the AWA. Animal advocates have criticized the AWA, one of the primary concerns being the exclusion of so many animals from the AWA’s coverage.  

Advocates have also criticized the USDA for its lax enforcement of the AWA. For those animals covered by the AWA, the protections provided by the statute and related regulations are only ensured to the extent that its protections are enforced. The USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is responsible for enforcing the AWA. To ensure compliance with the AWA, the APHIS Animal Care (AC) staff conducts routine, unannounced inspections of licensed and registered facilities. Inspections are also performed in response to complaints received about a facility.  

If AWA compliance problems are noted during an inspection, the facility is typically given a date by which to correct the deficiencies. If corrective action is not taken, APHIS may issue a warning letter or offer stipulation (where the facility pays a fine in lieu of a formal administrative proceeding). More serious or recurrent violations can lead to APHIS issuing a formal complaint, which could result in penalties including license or registration suspension or revocation, a cease-and-desist order, or civil penalties (fines). 

Animal advocates and former USDA employees have expressed serious concerns regarding AWA enforcement, accusing the USDA of prioritizing business interests over animal welfare and citing a significant decline in enforcement activities. A past article described problems enforcing the AWA with respect to dog breeding facilities (often referred to as “puppy mills”) according to audits by the USDA’s Office of Inspector General. 

While ineffective AWA enforcement has long been a concern, criticism of the agency’s enforcement processes has grown in recent years. In 2015, APHIS issued a five-year strategic plan, which included the goal of “[e]nsur[ing] the humane care and treatment of vulnerable covered animals.” Regarding this goal, the plan indicated that “APHIS believes that collaborating with regulated entities is the best way to ensure compliance and help the regulated community minimize costs associated with noncompliance.” According to a former USDA assistant director of animal welfare operations, this policy resulted in “a systematic dismantling of [the] animal welfare inspection process and enforcement.” 

One of the ways that APHIS attempted to “collaborate” with regulated entities was through its “teachable moments” program, which it implemented in January 2016. According to the bulletin announcing the teachable moments program: 

A teachable moment is a minor non-compliant item that: 1) the facility is willing and able to correct quickly; 2) is not impacting the welfare of any animal(s); and 3) has not previously been cited. If a non-compliant item is having a noticeable impact on animal welfare, it cannot be a teachable moment.  

Noncompliant items treated as teachable moments were not included in the inspection report issued to the facility, meaning that facilities that violated the AWA could still claim that they had a clean inspection report. Teachable moments were not published on the agency’s website until 2020, when Congress required APHIS to post them. (A past article addressed the litigation and Congressional action that resulted from APHIS’ complete removal of AWA inspection reports and other critical information related to AWA enforcement from its website in 2017. The information was not restored to the database until 2020.) 

The introduction of the teachable moments program is arguably one of the reasons that inspections that included citations for AWA violations dropped 67% between 2016 and 2020. While APHIS’ Animal Welfare Inspection Guide specifically required that a noncompliant item impacting animal welfare could not be considered a teachable moment, the agency has been criticized for violating its own guideline and keeping items impacting animal welfare off of inspection reports and issuing teachable moments instead.  

For example, on March 18, Oswald’s Bear Ranch, which is located in Newberry, Michigan and claims to be the “United State’s [sic] largest Bear Ranch,” posted a video to its Instagram account showing three baby bears being transported in a plastic tub that did not have any ventilation. In April, APHIS issued a teachable moment because the “transportation enclosure did not contain ventilation on two opposite sides” as required by the USDA’s animal welfare regulations on transportation standards. Clearly, this was a violation that could impact animal welfare that should not have been eligible to be treated as a teachable moment. 

On July 28, 2022, APHIS announced that at Congress’ direction, it would discontinue the teachable moments program effective August 1, 2022. According to the Deputy Administrator for APHIS’ Animal Care Program: 

[A]ll noncompliances (those that directly impact the welfare of the animals, those that have indirect impacts on animals’ welfare, and even very minor noncompliances) will now be cited on inspection reports. Teachable moments documented during inspections prior to August 1 will not be removed from the public search tool and those forms will still be available for public viewing. 

While this change will not resolve all of the concerns regarding the lack of effective AWA enforcement, discontinuation of the teachable moments program is a step in the right direction.  

We are going to keep working to improve animal welfare and create a more humane community while serving as a voice for the animals through advocacy. Together, we can continue to make a difference in animals’ lives. If you know someone who you think would be interested in this information, please forward this to them and encourage them to sign up for our Legislative Action Network

Photo Credit: Michigan Humane