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UPDATE:  On December 14, 2007 the Senate passed their version of the FARM Bill.  The Pet Safety and Protection Act was included, but because of ambiguous and delaying language changes, AWI encourages the upcoming conference committee to accept the House language adopted earlier this year.  For more about the differences and what you can do to help, please click here.

On July 27, 2007 the House passed the 2007 FARM Bill which included language sponsored by Representatives Steve Israel (D-NY) and Michael Doyle (D-PA) which would prevent Class B dealers and unlicensed individuals from selling dogs and cats to laboratories, and stray animals would be prevented from being sold for this purpose.

The Israel/Doyle amendment would also prohibit the use of live animals in sales demonstrations and reinstate a former requirement that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) provide Congress with the necessary information to hold the agency accountable for its enforcement of the Act. Additionally, as a response to the October 2005 USDA Office of the Inspector General report entitled “APHIS Animal Care Program Inspection and Enforcement Activities,” the amendment would increase fines for research institutions that violate the Animal Welfare Act from $2,750 to $10,000.

Class B dealers, who collect dogs and cats from random sources, routinely violate the Animal Welfare Act. This federal law set the minimum standards of care for animals and requires accurate record keeping on their acquisition and disposition. For too long, Class B dealers have thrived in a “cottage industry” that collects dogs and cats, sometimes family pets obtained by theft or fraudulent means, in order to sell them to laboratories for between $200 and $800 each.

Although there are only 15 Class B dealers selling random source dogs and cats for research, there are thousands of suppliers to the dealers. Dogs and cats that rightfully belong to individuals and families may be illegally acquired by use of “dirty tricks,” such as:

• Responding to “free to good home” ads in local newspapers, posing as providers of loving homes;
• Falsifying animal records to keep their true origins unknown; and
• Stealing pet dogs and cats from their owners’ yards and farms.

Too often, dogs and cats are subjected to abusive handling and exposure to the elements while kept on the premises of Class B dealers. Sadly, Class B dealers routinely deny these animals sufficient food, water and veterinary care before they are sold off to laboratories.

The Department of Agriculture lacks the necessary resources to track the interstate activities of Class B dealers to ensure that they comply with federal law. USDA cannot provide an assurance that illegally acquired pets are not being sold by Class B dealers.

This bill seeks a moderate, bipartisan solution to the problems caused by Class B dealers. “The Pet Safety and Protection Act” will protect family pets while allowing research on dogs and cats to continue in an environment free from fraud and abuse.

In short, the Pet Safety and Protection Act would:

• Prohibit Class B dealers and unlicensed individuals from selling dogs and cats to laboratories.
• Prevent stray animals, who may be lost family pets, from being sold to laboratories.
• Permit breeders (Class A dealers) to supply animals to laboratories.
• Permit research facilities that breed animals to supply them to other research facilities.
• Permit registered public pounds that receive animals turned in by their owners to provide these animals to research facilities.
• Permit individuals to donate their own animals to laboratories for research purposes.