title: Laboratory animals. Researchers pained by effort to define distress precisely.
abstract: The U.S. Department of Agriculture requested comments earlier this year to help it decide whether to adopt a formal definition of "distress" as part of its responsibilities under the Animal Welfare Act. But the 2600 pieces of advice it received during a 4-month period that ended earlier this month suggest that its job won't be easy. The comments highlight a deep split between animal activists, who see the potential new regulations as a step toward eliminating all painful procedures, and most researchers, who say that the present system is working well and that no major changes are needed.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Holden
mesh_terms: D032761:Animal Experimentation; D000827:Animal Welfare / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D000818:Animals; D000830:Animals, Laboratory; D033161:Government Regulation; D010146:Pain / Q000662:veterinary; D012106:Research; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000662:veterinary*; D014481:United States; D016885:United States Department of Agriculture / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence