cats do not have an effect on interstate commerce sufficient to merit federal regulation. As of December 2012, the case had reached the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which upheld earlier district court rulings. Public relations The USDA enforces the AWA and conducts regular inspections. Animal care will perform inspections in response to public concerns for the conditions of regulated facilities. They encourage individuals to report unregulated facilities that may require licenses or registration. Many state and local governments have animal welfare laws of their own. Animal care seeks to educate the public and create a cooperative relationship with licensed and registered entities, the animal protection community, and other Federal and State agencies. To accomplish this goal, Animal care conducts workshops regarding minimum care standards as outlined in the AWA. Proposed amendments Many animal welfare groups and animal activists support strengthening and further enforcement of the act. The act is often criticized for its exclusions of rats and mice, which are the most widely used laboratory animals. Although the act was amended to include all warmblooded animals in 1970, birds, mice, and rats were subsequently excluded in 2002. Some, however, feel that additional animals that are not warmblooded, should be included in the act's protection. Some members of Congress have supported additional funding for enforcing the act. There have been numerous sanctions taken against individuals and agencies that have been found in violation. A database of violations, reports, and sanctions on behalf of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) can be found on the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website. See also Animal Welfare Act 2006 Animal Welfare Institute The Humane Society of the United States References Further reading Irvine, Leslie. 2009. Filling the Ark: Animal Welfare in Disasters. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Alix Fano, Lethal Laws (White Lotus Co. Ltd, 1997). Bekoff, Marc, Encyclopedia of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare, vol. 1, 2nd ed. (ABC-CLIO, 2010). Jann Hau and G. L. Van Hoosier, Handbook of Laboratory Animal Science: Essential principles and practices. External links Animal Welfare Act and Animal Welfare Regulations from the United States Department of Agriculture Animal Welfare Act History Digital Collection from the National Agricultural Library (U.S.) Animal Welfare Information Center, National Agricultural Library (USDA) grants.nih.gov 89th United States Congress Cruelty to animals Animal welfare and rights legislation in the United States