What is AWA?

In one of my previous questions, there was a question said, "what is AWA?". Now I'm going to explain what AWA is. First of all, AWA stands for Animal Welfare Act and this protects certain animals in certain facilities. The AWA is a federal law that was passed in 1966. It empowers the Animal Care program of the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to issue licenses and adopt and enforce regulations. The AWA applies to facilities that breed animals for commercial sale, use animals in research, transport animal commercially, or publicly exhibit animals. (Including zoos, aquariums, research facilities, puppy mills, animal dealers, and circuses.) The regulations adopted under the AWA establish minimum care standards for animals in these facilities. (Including adequate housing, handling, sanitation, nutrition, water, veterinary care and protection from extreme weather and temperatures.) “Any live or dead dog, cat, monkey (nonhuman primate mammal), guinea pig, hamster, rabbit, or such other warmblooded animal, as the Secretary may determine is being used, or is intended for use, for research, testing, experimentation, or exhibition purposes, or as a pet.” according to the legal definition of the AWA. On the other hand, The AWA has exclusions for birds, rats, mice used in research. This is because 95% of the animals used in research are mice and rats and because the nine billion land animals slaughtered for food in the US every year are exempted, the vast majority of animals used by humans are excluded from the AWA’s protection.