Animal-Rights Groups Want Federal Records Restored

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — Animal-rights advocates asked a federal judge Wednesday to order the U.S. government to restore online public access to records on companies’ compliance with animal-welfare laws.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund and three other groups sued the Department of Agriculture in February, claiming its Feb. 3 decision to abruptly pull the data offline has obstructed their missions to fight animal cruelty and monitor government enforcement.

“Animal lives hang in the balance,” plaintiffs’ attorney Margaret Kwoka said during a preliminary injunction hearing Wednesday.

Kwoka said the animal rights groups have had to divert scarce resources to file Freedom of Information Act requests and wait for months, possibly years, to see inspection reports and enforcement actions that once were available instantaneously.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, a branch of the USDA, says it removed the data “as a precautionary measure” to protect individuals’ privacy.

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