PAAW Act

The PAAW Act would bar the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from conducting or funding any research that causes significant pain or distress to dogs or cats. It would amend the Public Health Service Act by adding a new section (447E) under which NIH may not conduct or support such research, with a 90-day readiness window after enactment. The bill links the prohibition to the USDA/Animal Welfare Act pain-distress framework, specifically identifying “pain category D or E” as the level of distress that triggers the prohibition. In short, federally funded dog- and cat-based research that involves higher levels of pain or distress would be prohibited, pushing researchers toward less painful methods or non-animal approaches.