The PET SAFETY and PROTECTION ACT would rescue family dogs from research lab torture, but no reprieve for dogs in pounds
It is a sad fact that unscrupulous people fraudulently collect dogs from a variety of sources such as “Free to Good Home” classified ads. Others, known as bunchers, STEAL dogs from owners who have left the dogs alone in their backyards and by altering records to hide the true source that the dog was received from.
These scurrilous types are associated with or are Class B Dealers, who sell the dogs to laboratories for testing and receive up to $800. for each dog.
Current statistics show that there are approximately twenty three dealers selling dogs of random or unknown source to these laboratories, but the dealers have a network of suppliers that number in the thousands.
These dogs, frequently loving family pets, are often subjected to abuse by the handlers and exposure to harsh outdoor elements while in the control and possession of the Class B dealers. It is common for the dogs to be denied sufficient food, water and basic veterinary care while they are held prisoner awaiting their fate as a caged experiment.
Federal legislation requires minimum care standards and accurate records as to the source of acquisition of the dog. These minimal requirements are often violated in the fraudulent acquisition, record keeping and disposition or sale of the dog to testing laboratories.
The Dept. Of Agriculture (USDA) has insufficient capabilities to address this problem so a new Federal law has been proposed that would protect family dogs. The proposed legislation is called the PET SAFETY and PROTECTION ACT, which will amend the Animal Welfare Act.
A leap forward that we endorse it is still inadequate on its face, as the law will continue to permit testing in labs on dogs, provided the environment is abuse free and devoid of the fraud, now rampant in the case of Class B dealers as mentioned above.
The PET SAFETY and PROTECTION ACT will also permit laboratories that breed dogs to furnish them to other research laboratories and will sanction the supplying of unwanted dogs in dog pounds to research labs.
Finally, individuals will have the right to donate their personal dogs to research laboratories.
The proposed legislation falls leagues short of being an acceptable piece of legislation, in our view. No dog should be subjected to the torture and loneliness of the cage in a research laboratory. The activity should be specifically prohibited by state and Federal law.
But, it is a step forward. Passage of this legislation will help stop the activities of the bunchers, the fraudulent source record keeping and hopefully some of the rampant abuse that these stolen and fraudulently obtained dogs are currently being subjected to. Family dogs stolen from backyards will hopefully be safe from kidnapping by bunchers and a miserable fate of torture and cruelty in laboratory cages.
For those reasons, we must endorse the legislation. We urge you to contact your U.S.Senators and Congressman to voice your support. Once passed, the unacceptable legislative sections allowing personal dog donation, lab breeding for the benefit of research facilities, and dog pound donation to research facilities must be immediately addressed by dog enthusiasts nationwide.