Finally! Animal Welfare Act Bird Regulations Part 1: Who Is Covered?

After 20 years, the USDA has finally promulgated its Animal Welfare Act ("AWA") regulations for birds.

The AWA covers the handling, care, treatment, and transportation of covered animals by those engaged in certain activities.  While birds not bred for use in research have been part of the AWA definition of "animal" and thus covered by the AWA since 2002, the USDA had not promulgated regulatory standards to cover birds until now.  After waiting twenty years for these regulations, people are naturally wondering, "Who do the regulations apply to?" and "What do they require?"

This blog post will cover the first question—Who. We will publish a second blog post covering the "What" of the new standards shortly.