Last Chance for Animals

Emaciated dog at a former Class B dealer facility

By Stephanie Edwards

Federal lawmakers have introduced legislation to prevent family pets from being collected by middlemen and sold for use in laboratory research.

The Pet Safety and Protection Act  would amend the Animal Welfare Act to make it illegal for research facilities to purchase dogs and cats from anyone who has not personally bred and raised the animals. Research facilities would be allowed to purchase animals from breeders and from the few animal shelters that participate in 'pound seizure.'

The legislation was introduced in the Senate Feb. 28 by Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and in the House March 1 by Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa.  It targets long-standing problems with "Class B" dealers who collect dogs and cats from random sources and then sell them to research facilities. There are 15 Class B dealers of random source dogs and cats remaining in the United States.

Class B Dealers often buy animals from people known as bunchers. Unlike dealers, who are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, bunchers are not regulated. Class B dealers and bunchers have been known to acquire lost, stray and "free to a good home" dogs and cats, as well as pets from their owners' backyards.

The treatment of animals at dealer facilities awaiting sale for research is also a major concern. The USDA and undercover investigations into Class B dealers have documented mistreatment and neglect, in addition to animal welfare violations. However, dealers with Animal Welfare Act violations on their records have not always lost their licenses or faced serious sanction.

Last Chance for Animals

Caged dogs at former Class B dealer facility

A 2006 HBO documentary, "Dealing Dogs," exposed the inhumane conditions at one Class B dealer facility. The dogs in the film, waiting to be sold to research facilities, were forced to suffer in horrible conditions often leading to their death. The facility featured in the documentary, Martin Creek Kennels, was eventually assessed a $262,000 fine. This was the largest civil penalty ever assessed and paid for violations of the Animal Welfare Act, according to the USDA website. The facility owners' licenses were revoked, and the surviving animals were removed from the property.