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| The USDA has repeatedly documented the failure of Class B dealers to comply with the minimum requirements of the Animal Welfare Act. ©iStock.com |
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A May 29 National Academies report concludes that Class B dealers are not necessary to provide random source dogs and cats for research.
Class B dealers have operating licenses from the USDA that allow them to round up dogs and cats from animal shelters, auctions, private individuals and other "random sources," and then sell them for experimentation.
"The HSUS commends the National Academies report and appreciates the hard work of the expert committee that produced it," said Martin Stephens, Ph.D., HSUS vice president of animal research issues.
"Forty years of Class B dealers rounding up pets and funneling them into laboratories is too long. This dwindling industry has no place in 21st century science or society."
Congressional Request
The report comes in response to a request by Congress through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a critical evaluation of the need to use random source dogs and cats from Class B dealers in NIH-funded research.
The report states that, "…testimony provided to the Committee by USDA officials made it clear that despite new enforcement guidelines and intensified inspection efforts, not all origins of animals are or can be traced.
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| Undercover investigators have documented Class B dealers buying pets from "bunchers"—unlicensed dealers who steal animals from owners' yards, cars and farms—and then sell them for research. ©iStock.com |
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The USDA simply cannot assure that stolen or lost pets will not enter research laboratories via the Class B dealer system."
The findings in the report should provide momentum in Congress to eliminate Class B dealers. Legislation expected to be reintroduced by U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., will prohibit Class B dealers from selling random source dogs and cats to research facilities.
In the last Congress, both the House and Senate approved amendments to ban Class B dealers, but the provisions were stripped in the final version of the Farm Bill.
The committee "concludes that Class B dealers are not necessary for supplying these animals and describes alternative methods through which random source dogs and cats may be acquired for appropriate research purposes," identifying Class A dealers (who sell dogs and cats bred specifically for the purpose of research), NIH-supported Resource and Research Development, the NIH Request for Proposal mechanism and donation programs among viable alternatives.
Time to Try Something New
The HSUS is urging research institutions that currently purchase random source dogs and cats from Class B dealers, such as The Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, Auburn University in Alabama, and Masonic Medical Research Laboratory in New York, to pursue alternative options.
Further, The HSUS calls on Congress to swiftly enact the Pet Safety and Protection Act once introduced, to end the deeply flawed and unnecessary Class B dealer system.
