United States Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) introduced legislation to stop unethical animal dealers from selling stolen pets and strays to research facilities. The Pet Safety and Protection Act of 1999 strengthens the Animal Welfare Act by prohibiting random source animal dealers from supplying dogs and cats to research laboratories. At the same time, the bill enhances the integrity of animal research by encouraging research laboratories to obtain animals from legitimate sources that comply with the Animal Welfare Act.
"Congress passed the Animal Welfare Act over 30 years ago to end the mistreatment of animals," Akaka noted. "Despite the Animal Welfare Act's well-meaning intentions and the enforcement efforts of the Department of Agriculture, the Act routinely fails to protect pets and pet owners with reliable protection against the actions of these disreputable animal dealers, also known as 'random source' dealers.
"Medical research is an invaluable weapon in the battle against disease. New drugs and surgical techniques offer promise in the fight against AIDS, cancer, and a host of life-threatening diseases. Animal research has been, and continues to be, fundamental to advancements in medicine. I am not here to argue whether animals should or should not be used in research; rather, I am addressing the unethical practice of selling stolen pets and stray animals to research facilities. While I doubt that laboratories intentionally seek out stolen or fraudulently obtained dogs and cats as research subjects, the fact remains that these animals end up in research laboratories--and little is being done to stop it."
There are less than 40 "random source" animal dealers operating throughout the country who acquire tens of thousands of dogs and cats. Many of these animals are family pets, acquired by so-called "bunchers" who resort to theft and deception as they collect animals and sell them to Class B dealers. "Bunchers" often respond to "free pet to a good home" advertisements, tricking animal owners into giving away their pets by posing as someone interested in adopting the dog or cat. Random source dealers are known to keep hundreds of animals at a time in squalid conditions, providing them with little food or water. The mistreated animals often pass through several hands and across state lines before they are eventually sold by a random source dealer to a research laboratory for $200 to $500 each.
Legitimate sources are USDA-licensed Class A dealers or breeders; municipal pounds that choose to release dogs and cats for research purposes; legitimate pet owners who want to donate their animals to research; and private and federal facilities that breed their own animals. These four sources are capable of supplying millions of animals for research, far more cats and dogs than are required by current laboratory demand. The National Institutes of Health, in an effort to curb abuse and deception, has already adopted policies against the acquisition of dogs and cats from random source dealers.
The Pet Protection and Safety Act also increases the penalties under the Animal Welfare Act to a minimum of $1,000 per violation.
