Congressional Democrats Last Hope Of Stolen Pets Sold To Dissection Labs

Humane Society Pushes to Ban Pet Sales to Labs

Lost animals gathered, sold for research, group says; Congress

considers bill

The Associated Press

Updated: 6:26 p.m. ET May 14, 2007

WASHINGTON - It's the nightmare of pet lovers everywhere: Their

beloved Fido or Whiskers gets lost, is scooped up by animal thieves,

then sold to be dissected in a university research lab.

The Humane Society of the United States estimates that every year

middlemen known as "Class B" animal dealers round up about 18,000 dogs

and cats through flea markets and free-to-good-home ads, and then sell

them to laboratories and university research labs.

In the process, it says lost pets are rounded up, too.

Now that Congress has undergone a change in leadership, the animal

advocacy group hopes lawmakers will make it illegal for "Class B"

dealers to sell "random source" cats and dogs to research labs.

The proposed ban is dubbed "Buck's Bill" in honor of Buck, a black

hound dog seized in 2003 in Oklahoma from a dealer. Buck, who had

heartworm disease and other ailments, died of internal hemorrhaging

months after his rescue, while in foster care.

Mary Hanley, the executive vice president of the National Association

for Biomedical Research, said she sees no reason for the law change.

There may have been past abuses, she said, but it's not the current

reality. Labs are required to keep documentation on where their

research animals came from.

"Research facilities take great care," Hanley said. "They don't want

dogs that they don't know where they came from. They take great care

so that they do know."

Pennsylvania Reps. Phil English and Mike Doyle disagree.

"Lost or stolen animals may be getting in the queue for

experimentation" without their owners' knowledge despite laws designed

to prevent that, said English, a Republican who sponsored a House bill

with Doyle, a Democrat.

'Class B' dealers

Under their bill, labs would still be able to obtain research animals

from breeders, pet owners who donate them, or shelters as long as the

animal in question is not a stray. The bill is still pending before

both the House and Senate agriculture committees.

The Department of Agriculture estimates that there are about 10 to 20

Class B dealers that sell to labs - far fewer than in the late 1970s

and early '80s when there were more than 1,000 such dealers.

The states with Class B dealers that provide animals to labs are

Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,

North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, according to the

Humane Society.

Doyle said the Department of Agriculture doesn't have the money to

ensure that the dealers are complying with animal welfare laws.

Undercover work by outside groups has found evidence of animals being

mistreated by Class B animal dealers, he said.

Darby Holladay, a USDA spokesman, said he could not comment on pending

investigations or legislation.

A House agriculture panel held a hearing on the subject of animal

welfare last week, which Wayne Pacelle, the Humane Society's CEO, said

was a good sign that the Democratic-controlled Congress may take

legislation like this seriously. The committee's last serious look at

animal welfare was in 2000, he said.

An estimated 90,000 dogs and cats are bought by research facilities

and veterinary schools each year. The Humane Society estimates that 70

percent comes from breeders, 20 percent come from Class B dealers, and

10 percent come from pounds.

Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, sponsored the bill in the Senate.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18662520/wid/11915773?GT1=9951