44 • Alternatives to Animal Use in Research, Testing, and Education 
• the general purpose for which animal re- 
search and testing is carried out in different 
departments and agencies, and 
• how much research and testing for the Fed- 
eral Government is conducted intramurally 
(i.e., within Federal facilities). 
Federal Departments and Agencies 
Using Animals in Research 
Six departments and four independent Federal 
agencies conduct intramural research or testing 
involving animals. Uses of animals range from 
combat -casualty -care investigations in the Depart- 
ment of the Army, to acute toxicity studies by the 
Consumer Product Safety Commission of poten- 
tially hazardous substances, to National Aero- 
nautics and Space Administration research on pro- 
tecting the health of American astronauts. (For 
additional information on the use of animals within 
the Federal Government, see chs. 7 and 13 and 
app. B.) 
Department of Agriculture 
USDA performs biomedical research using ani- 
mals under the authority of the Animal Welfare 
Act in order to improve animal breeds, food, and 
fibers. Most of the research is conducted in- 
tramurally by the Agricultural Research Service, 
although some extramural research (i.e., research 
supported by USDA, but conducted in non-USDA 
facilities) is contracted out by the Cooperative State 
Research Service. Some of this USDA animal re- 
search involves farm animals, however, which are 
largely excluded from Government regulatory pol- 
icies and are exempt from the Animal Welfare Act 
and APHIS regulations (44). 
Department of Commerce 
The Department of Commerce conducts a small 
amount of intramural research with animals and 
lets some extramural contracts that involve ani- 
mal studies. There are no specific Commerce guide- 
lines or policies governing the humane treatment 
and appropriate veterinary care for laboratory ani- 
mals (33). 
Department of Defense 
The divisions within the Department of Defense 
(DOD) that conduct experimental research on ani- 
mals are the Air Force, the Army, the Navy, the 
Uniformed Services University of the Health 
Sciences, the Defense Nuclear Agency, and the 
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology; the first three 
of these account for most of the research. To- 
gether, all the divisions have approximately 40 re- 
search facilities that conduct animal experimen- 
tation. 
The Aerospace Medical Division (AMD) of the 
Air Force accounts for about 95 percent of that 
service’s use of animals. Of this, 84 percent is due 
to intramural research (9). AMD research and de- 
velopment projects fall within the following areas: 
• humans in space, 
• chemical defense and threat countermeasures, 
• safety and environment, 
• logistics and technical training, 
• air combat training, 
• human components of weapons systems, and 
• personnel and force management. 
The safety and environment program uses the 
most animals, while those on human components 
of weapons systems and chemical defense also have 
some animal use (50). 
The Army does medical research to protect the 
soldier by the authority in the mission of the U.S. 
Army Medical Research and Development Com- 
mand. Medical research and development (R&D) 
are carried out in five areas: infectious diseases 
(tropical disease and biological warfare defense), 
combat casualty care, combat systems, dental re- 
search (facial injuries), and chemical defense. 
About one-third of the research is done in-house 
and two-thirds is contracted out (38). 
The Navy in fiscal year 1985 allocated $58 mil- 
lion for the life sciences or biomedical research. 
Of this, $37 million (64 percent) is for extramural 
research while the remainder is for intramural 
use. The two main branches of the service doing 
research involving animals are the Naval Medical 
Research and Development Command and the Of- 
