Pet Safety and Protection Act Reintroduced

Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Mike Doyle (D-PA-14) announced that he and Chris Smith (NJ-4) had reintroduced the Pet Safety and Protection Act, legislation to protect companion animals from illegal sale for use in laboratory experiments.  The Pet Safety and Protection Act would prohibit “Class B” animal dealers from selling dogs and cats to researchers.

 

"Class B dealers have racked up an atrocious record of illegal activity and cruelty to animals,” Congressman Doyle said today. "This program has been an unmitigated disaster – and worst of all, it’s unnecessary. Congress should have shut it down years ago. That's why we're re-introducing the Pet Safety and Protection Act – to end the Class B dealer debacle once and for all."

 

“Class B dealers have routinely failed to meet basic Animal Welfare Act Standards and there is no sign they will ever improve," remarked Congressman Smith. "Reputable research institutes do not use Class B dealers because of the serious problems associated with them and their troubled past. Closing them down once and for all will give people greater confidence in our research programs and go a long way toward reducing animal cruelty."

 

Animal Welfare Institute Senior Policy Advisor Nancy Blaney urged legislators to pass the bill during this Congress, noting:  "Without this bill, USDA will continue to waste valuable resources on the hyper-vigilance these dealers require.  Most researchers do not use Class B dealers to acquire dogs and cats, and it is time for the remainder who do to end their embarrassing association with them."

 

Currently, two types of animal dealers are licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – Class A or “purpose-bred” dealers and Class B or “random source” dealers.  Class A dealers are highly regulated businesses that raise their own animals.  Class B dealers, in contrast, routinely buy dogs and cats from a vast network of suppliers with murky backgrounds.  Many of these suppliers obtain dogs and cats they sell to Class B dealers by stealing them – or by responding to “free to good home” advertisements and posing as pet owners willing to provide a good home to a family pet.  Class B dealers pay suppliers for each animal, creating enough of a financial incentive that a number of individuals steal pet dogs and cats from owners’ properties and falsify records to keep their true origins unknown.  

 

In addition, some Class B dealers have unofficial relationships with pounds, shelters, or “humane societies” to buy surplus animals.  Although the law currently requires any stray animal to be held for at least 5 days at such facilities, it does not prevent pets from being kept out of sight, or transported to an out-of-state location for this time period, making it impossible for concerned pet owners to locate a beloved pet.  

 

The 2006 HBO documentary “Dealing Dogs” illustrated the illegal and inhumane trade in stray animals and family pets, as well as the neglect and outright cruelty with which some Class B dealers treat these animals.  This film contains disturbing video footage collected by an undercover investigator who worked in several Class B dealers’ facilities.  Among the abuses documented in this film are overcrowded cages, rotten food, food contaminated with feces, frozen drinking water, dogs with serious untreated injuries and diseases, and live dogs caged with the carcasses of dead dogs.  In addition, this investigation documented the beating, strangulation, and shooting of dogs by Class B dealers.

 

The few remaining Class B dealers these dealers have a history of violations of the Animal Welfare Act. The U.S. Department of Agriculture spends hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars each year unsuccessfully trying to regulate Class B dealers and has acknowledged that it can't guarantee that dogs and cats are not being illegally acquired for use in experimental procedures.  

 

The 110th Congress directed the National Academies to examine the issue and determine whether the Class B dealer system should be continued.  In May of 2009, the National Academies released its report on the Class B dealer system.  The National Academies concluded that:

 

 

“The National Academies study puts to rest any remaining concerns about the desirability of eliminating the Class B dealer system,” Congressman Doyle stated shortly after the study was released.  “If NIH doesn’t need Class B dealers, it’s highly unlikely any other legitimate researcher does.  It’s past time for Congress to protect American families and their companion animals and pass this bill.”