From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov

Transcript for: Alternatives to Animal Use in Research

Description: This episode looks at federal efforts to promote
alternative research methods that don't use animals.

Related GAO Work: GAO-19-629: Animal Use in Research: Federal Agencies
Should Assess and Report on Their Efforts to Develop and Promote
Alternatives

Released: September 2019


[ Background Music ]

[ Steve Morris: ] The scientific community is -- is very motivated to
use alternative because they're often cheaper, and faster, and -- and
could yield better results as well.

[ Matt Oldham: ] Welcome the GAO's Watchdog Report, your source for news
and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. I'm Matt
Oldham. U.S. research facilities use a range of animals in research. And
federal laws require researchers to consider alternative methods to
animal use. Steve Morris, a Natural Resources and Environment director
is with me to talk about a GAO report on how federal agencies promote
those alternatives to animal use in research. Thanks for joining me,
Steve.

[ Steve Morris: ] Good morning, Matt.

[ Matt Oldham: ] So, how many agencies are still using animals for
testing?

[ Steve Morris: ] Yeah, Matt, well, you know, we've reported on about 20
agencies that are still using animals for research and -- and much of
the research focuses on human health and medicine, but there's other
kinds of research that addresses agriculture, animal health issues, and
product safety. While the federal agencies are using a lot of animals in
research, but they're also looking to develop and promote alternatives
to -- to animal use. So, just an example, Matt, there are some methods
out there that can use computers to predict how humans will be affected
by chemicals and there's other methods that involve human cell cultures
to learn more about diseases that affect people.

[ Matt Oldham: ] So, who promotes these alternatives and how do they do
it?

[ Steve Morris: ] Well, Matt, you know, the agencies, themselves, are
promoting the alternatives and -- and we focused on -- on three key
ones, HHS, USDA, and EPA, and -- and we found that they conduct or fund
research that doesn't use animals or uses fewer animals. So, just for an
example, HHS provided funding to scientists to test chemicals for
toxicity using the human cell cultures rather than animals, but the --
the agencies, themselves, can also encourage industry to use alternative
to animals when they're conducting research that will ultimately be used
in determining product safety, so just another -- as another example
Matt, EPA can now determine that a pesticide is safe to use based on
research derived from the use of animals or other alternatives as well.

[ Matt Oldham: ] Is there a sense of whether or not their efforts are
effective at reducing the use of animals?

[ Steve Morris: ] Well, you know, the -- the three agencies I mentioned,
they're very active in looking for opportunities to use alternatives to
animals, and we believe that the efforts will pay off, over time. You
know, one thing we also learned is that the scientific community is --
is very motivated to use alternatives because they're often cheaper, and
-- and faster, and could yield better results as well. But it's really
hard to say what the effect of these efforts have been on the use of
animals. I think part of the challenge, Matt, is the agencies don't
always report on their use of animals and some agencies are really
better than others at assessing the impact of their efforts.

[ Background Music ]

[ Matt Oldham: ] So, it sounds like HHS, USDA, and EPA are the main
players in animal research oversight, but it's difficult to determine
how effective their efforts have been to promote these alternatives to
animal use. Steve, is there anything the agencies can do to show if
their efforts are working?

[ Steve Morris: ] You know, we -- we think there is, Matt, and so we're
recommending that the agencies work together to -- to develop measures
that can be used to -- to better assess their progress in replacing or
reducing the use of animals. And we also think it's important that the
agencies report their progress to the public.

[ Matt Oldham: ] Last question, what's the bottom line of this report,
Steve?

[ Steve Morris: ] Well, you know federal agencies do take seriously the
need to find and adopt alternatives to animals in research, and they're
taking some -- some positive steps in that direction. We think there's
some strides that have made but more could be done, and the agencies
really need to figure out how to best assess their progress and reduce
the use of animals and then report that information to the public.

[ Matt Oldham: ] Steve Morris was talking about a GAO report on federal
efforts to promote alternatives to animal use and research. Thank you
for your time, Steve.

[ Steve Morris: ] Thanks, Matt.

[ Matt Oldham: ] And thank you for listening to the Watchdog Report. To
hear more podcasts, subscribe to us on Apple podcasts. For more from the
Congressional Watchdog, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, visit
us at gao.gov.