The tide may be turning for dogs and other animals in laboratories
Smadar Spector
The tide may be turning for dogs and other animals in laboratories
The things that make beagles wonderful companion animals are also the things that have led to their extensive use as laboratory test subjects: They are friendly, good-natured and easy to handle. U.S. laboratories use more than 40,000 of these gentle animals in experiments every year. But we are continuing to advocate for a fundamental shift that would result in a steep decline in the number of dogs and other animals in laboratories.
Last week, National Institutes of Health director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya revealed that the agency had shuttered the last beagle laboratory on its campus—a lab that carried out experiments on thousands of dogs. This does not mean that NIH has stopped funding dog tests entirely, nor does it end the continued use of dogs in experiments that are not funded by NIH. But it’s a step forward, and it’s one we are determined will be a sign of a larger change.
This news comes, too, as we approach the one-year anniversary of the largest Animal Welfare Act fine in U.S. history. The fine was levied against Inotiv—one of the biggest animal testing companies in the world and the parent company of Envigo RMS, a company that breeds and sells animals to laboratories. Dozens of shocking violations at an Envigo dog breeding facility in Virginia led to a federal investigation and resulted in our team’s historic transport of more than 4,000 beagles, who were placed into loving homes with the help of our invaluable shelter and rescue partners. The Virginia facility was closed and the plea agreement ensured that no Inotiv entities, including Envigo, will be able to breed or sell dogs again.
Over the last few months, we’ve seen still more good news for dogs and other animals in labs, with NIH, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency all announcing plans to replace animal tests and experiments with sophisticated non-animal alternatives.