The FDA Modernisation Act 2.0, Reducing Animal Testing Act, and a statutory fix to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020 were enacted as well as record-breaking funding for enforcement of the Horse Protection Act of 1970.

“Reducing the numbers of animals used in testing, shutting down commercial cub-petting operations, halting the use of performance-enhancing drugs in horse racing, and working to combat the massacre of sharks for their fins are good policies for the United States,” said Wayne Pacelle, president at the Center for a Humane Economy. “These laws, individually and collectively, help make our nation more humane when it comes to our treatment of animals.”

“We applaud President Biden, the White House, and the 117th Congress for enacting the most comprehensive legislative victories for animals of any Congress in history,” said Marty Irby, executive director at Animal Wellness Action and an eight-time world champion equestrian. “These new policies will revolutionise the pharmaceutical world, end the ridiculous practices of cub-petting and shark-finning, and better protect our iconic American equines from doping and long-term abuses that have plagued the equine world for half a century.”

FDA Modernisation Act and Reducing Animal Testing Act

In December 2022, federal lawmakers passed the FDA Modernisation Act 2.0 — including both the original FDA Modernisation Act and also the Reducing Animal Testing Act — to eliminate a federal mandate for animal testing for new drugs and for biosimilars. Given that perhaps 75 percent of all animals used in testing are conscripted for drug development, enactment of the measure punctuated the biggest policy win on the issue of animal testing in our nation’s history. On a significant parallel track, Animal Wellness Action succeeded in getting an additional $5 million in new money to support an FDA-wide New Alternative Methods Program to reduce animal testing (total is $12.5 million). The FDA Modernisation Act 2.0 promises to reboot a broken drug development paradigm and, if vigorously implemented, will deliver safer, more effective, more reliable palliatives and cures to people in need.

Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act Statutory Repair

Animal Wellness Action, along with The Jockey Club, worked with key lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate to amend the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020, modifying a provision in the original law that a federal appellate court declared unconstitutional in November and which put the national ban on race-day doping of Thoroughbreds in jeopardy. Performance-enhancing drugs put the animals at risk of breakdowns and other injuries and make the entire industry suspect. Animal Wellness Action launched a new site, www.HISAWatchdog.org, to help facilitate communication and keep a watchful eye on regulators.

Big Cat Public Safety Act

President Joe Biden signed the stand-alone Big Cat Public Safety Act, H.R. 263, into law on December 22 after a long, 11-year campaign to end the trade in big cats as pets and to shut down commercial cub-petting operations that treat tiger cubs and kittens as props. This bill closes out the cub-petting industry, which breeds tigers and lions to allow patrons to handle cubs for a fee. There are thousands of big cats kept in private hands, and just a decade ago, there were more than 60 cub-petting menageries.

Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act

Shark fins are off all menus in the United States, with Congress passing the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act as an amendment to the National Defense Authorisation Act, signed into law in December. This bill was seven years in the works and addresses the global mass killing of as many as 70 million sharks for their fins. Like the ban on the sale of dog and cat meat in the United States, U.S. leadership will be attention-getting throughout the world, including in nations where there is still an appetite for shark fin soup.

Record Breaking Funding for Enforcement of the Horse Protection Act

With the enactment of these new measures, Animal Wellness Action has helped secure a total of 12 new animal protection laws within four years since the organisation was formed in 2018. These legislative achievements also include the Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act, Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act, and Parity in Animal Cruelty Enforcement (PACE) Act, signed into law in 2018; the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act and Rescuing Animals With Rewards (RAWR) Act, enacted in 2019; the original HISA statue, in 2020; the Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) for Veterans Therapy Act, in 202land the five measures signed by Biden this month.