National & World Ag News Headlines Humane Society, USDA Agree on Animal Research Monitoring USAgNet - 07/02/2009 The Humane Society of the United States and the USDA have reached a settlement in a lawsuit over access to annual reports of facilities conducting animal research. The HSUS filed the case in federal court in January 2005 under the Freedom of Information Act. The lawsuit alleged that the USDA violated the Freedom of Information Act by failing to provide The HSUS with numerous reports required by the Animal Welfare Act concerning painful animal experiments conducted without anesthetics or other pain or distress relief measures. The suit also sought to compel the USDA to make annual Animal Welfare Act-mandated animal research facility reports available online. Pursuant to the settlement agreement signed by the parties, all of the annual reports, including pain and distress information, will be made available to the public electronically and in a timely manner. USDA will also have to indicate on its website which facilities did not submit annual reports, and therefore failed to abide by the Animal Welfare Act. Reports released to the animal rights group prior to the settlement described procedures that they claimed 'caused unrelieved animal pain and distress had large amounts of information redacted.' The settlement will be submitted to the federal district court for the District of Columbia today for final approval. Copyright © 2010 - USAgNet.com. All Rights Reserved.