January 21, 2011
A History of Advocating for Pets Used in Experiments
2004-2000 1999-1995 1994-1990 1989-1980 1979-1960
September 2010: The Government Accountability Office’s report to Congress concluded that USDA’s oversight of Class B dealers would benefit from additional management information and analysis. Read more »
November 2009: There are ten Class B dealers of live, “random source” dogs and cats, nine of whom are active. One of the ten dealers was sentenced to a 5-year license suspension and is not likely to resume activity. Additionally, six dealers are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for alleged violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
November 2009: The HSUS releases a study identifying research institutions that still purchase from Class B dealers and, together with HSUS members, urges these institutions to stop patronizing these dealers. Take Action »
October 2009: Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI) reintroduces the Pet Safety and Protection Act (S. 1834) on October 21. Representative Doyle (D-PA) reintroduces identical legislation (H.R. 3907) in the U.S. House on October 22. Take Action »
2009: The Government Accountability Office begins a study of “random source” dogs and cats from Class B dealers, as requested by the leadership of Senate and House Agriculture Committees to “conduct a comprehensive review of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s of “random source” dog and cat procurement by Class B dealers, especially the trace back procedures used to verify the source records of these dealers”.
July 2009: There are 11 Class B dealers of live, “random source” dogs and cats, seven of whom are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for alleged violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
May 2009: The National Academies committee "concludes that Class B dealers are not necessary for supplying these animals and describes alternative methods through which “random source” dogs and cats may be acquired for appropriate research purposes," identifying Class A dealers (who sell dogs and cats bred specifically for the purpose of research), National Institutes of Health-supported Resource and Research Development, the National Institutes of Health Request for Proposal mechanism and donation programs among viable alternatives. Read more »
January 2009: The HSUS participates in the second National Academies committee meeting on the "Scientific and Humane Issues in the Use of Random-source Dogs and Cats for Research."
2008: The 110th Congress comes to an end with 131 cosponsors of the Pet Safety and Protection Act in the U.S. House of Representatives, and 20 in the U.S. Senate.
2008: The HSUS participates in the National Academies committee's first public meeting, makes a statement, and submits information for the consideration of the committee members.
2008: The National Academies—specifically the Institute for Laboratory Animal Welfare—forms an expert committee to address the use of Class B dogs and cats in research funded by the National Institutes of Health.
2008: Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA), Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss, (R-GA), House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) and Ranking member Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) send a letter to the Government Accountability Office requesting a comprehensive review of Unites States Department of Agriculture oversight of “random source” dog and cats obtained by Class B dealers.
2008: A section of the Farm Bill that would have phased out the use and sale of “random source” dogs and cats is dropped from the final bill despite being passed in both the respective Senate and the House Farm Bills with broad, bi-partisan support. Instead, this provision is substituted with language again calling for a study by the National Institutes of Health, and instructing the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to submit a report to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees on how recommendations from the study can be applied to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
2007: The U.S. Senate passes an amendment to the Farm Bill that would eliminate Class B dealers of “random source” dogs and cats.
2007: The U.S. House of Representatives passes amendment to the Farm Bill that would eliminate Class B dealers of “random source” dogs and cats.
2007: A HSUS and Animal Welfare Institute survey of the approximately 1,200 research institutions registered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicates that 96 percent of the 192 respondents do not purchase “random source” dogs and cats from Class B dealers. According to a survey by the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges, at least 19 of the nation's 28 vet schools do not use live, “random source” dogs and cats from Class B dealers.
2007: Representative Doyle introduces the Pet Safety and Protection Act (H.R. 1280) in the U.S. House of Representatives.
2007: Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI) reintroduces the Pet Safety and Protection Act (S. 714) in the U.S. Senate.
2007: There are 10 Class B dealers of live, “random source” dogs and cats, three of whom are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
2007: Language requesting the formation of an expert committee to study whether “random source” cats and dogs obtained by Class B dealers are necessary for research is included in The Senate Fiscal Year 2008 Labor Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee report.
2006: HBO releases its documentary of the Baird case, "Dealing Dogs".
2006: Representative Mike Doyle (D-PA) reintroduces the Pet Safety Protection Act (H.R. 5229) in the U.S. House of Representatives. By the end of the year, and the close of the 109th Congress, the bill has 62 cosponsors.
2005: Class B dealer C.C. Baird's U.S. Department of Agriculture license is permanently revoked and he is fined $262,700, the largest fine ever imposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
2005: A microchip scan reveals that a dog slated for use in a University of Minnesota research laboratory is actually someone's pet and was stolen two months earlier from a backyard in Arkansas and sold to the university by a Class B dealer from Michigan. ¹
2005: Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI) reintroduces the Pet Safety and Protection Act (S. 451) to the U.S. Senate.
2004: The U.S. Department of Agriculture files a 108-page complaint against Class B dealer C.C. Baird, charging hundreds of violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
2004: Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI) reintroduces the Pet Safety and Protection Act (H.R. 2346) for the 108th Congress.
2001: The number of Class B dealers selling “random source” animals to research is 20.
2001: The U.S. Department of Agriculture claims that the rate of audited animal acquisition records traced back to the original source has reached 96 percent.
2001: Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI) reintroduces the Pet Safety and Protection Act (S. 668) for the 107th Congress.
1999: Senator Daniel Akaka reintroduces the Pet Safety and Protection Act (S. 1522) in the U.S. Senate.
1999: Representative Charles T. Canady (R-FL), reintroduces the Pet Safety and Protection Act (H.R. 453) for the 106th Congress
1998: Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI) reintroduces the Pet Safety and Protection Act (S. 2202) in the U.S. Senate.
1998: The number of Class B dealers selling “random source” animals to research is less than 40.
1997: Class B dealer C.C. Baird is convicted of violating the Animal Welfare Act and fined $5,000. The charges against him include failing to maintain complete records showing the acquisition, disposition, and identification of animals.
1997: Representative Charles T. Canady (R-FL), reintroduces the Pet Safety and Protection Act (H.R. 594) for the 105th Congress.
1996: Senator Daniel Akaka introduces the Pet Safety and Protection Act (S. 2114) in the U.S. Senate.
1996: the U.S. House Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry of the Committee on Agriculture conducts a Congressional Hearing on the Family Pet Protection Act and the Pet Safety Protection Act.
1996: Representative Charles T. Canady (R-FL) introduces the Pet Safety and Protection Act (H.R. 3398) to prohibit the use in research of “random source” dogs and cats from Class B dealers and in
1996: U.S. Department of Agriculture Assistant Secretary Michael Dunn, testifying at this Congressional Hearing, notes:²
— 52 percent of the records designed to verify the legal acquisition of animals by Class B dealers are incomplete, incorrect, or outright fraudulent.
— "Every time we develop a new way to look at things, they [dealers] develop a new way to hide them."
1995: A U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General Audit Report notes that: ³
— "licensed dealers ... obtained animals from “random source”s which could not be verified ... The sellers did not acknowledge any sales to the dealer, or could not be located."
— "violators (of the AWA) consider the monetary stipulation as a normal cost of conducting business rather than a deterrent for violating the law."
— "[USDA] has cited multiple USDA licensed dealers for fraudulent record keeping concerning the inability to verify sources ... A recent attempt by APHIS to determine the source of ten dogs disclosed that five of the sales were apparently fictitious."
— "APHIS had renewed licenses or registrations to facilities which were in direct violation of the Act."
— "... a dog dealer … destroyed his records during a stolen dog task force investigation."
1994: C.C. Baird, the owner of a Class B facility in Arkansas cited for numerous Animal Welfare Act violations, is involved in a shipment of animals to Mississippi that includes 42 dead dogs in their cages.
1994: Ervin Stebane permanently relinquishes his Class B license.
1993: The number of Class B dealers selling “random source” dogs and cats to research is 100.
1993: A U.S. Department of Agriculture "trace back" investigation reveals that an estimated 60 percent of animals sold to research institutions cannot be traced back to their original sources. The investigation uncovers numerous examples of suppliers of “random source” dogs to Class B dealers who either had never supplied animals or could not be located from the names and drivers license numbers given by the dealers. 4
1993: The U.S. Department of Agriculture spends nearly one million dollars in an attempt to regulate “random source” dealers.
1990: Congress amends the Animal Welfare Act to require Class B dealers to document the identity of each person who supplies them with “random source” dogs and cats.
1987: The U.S. Department of Agriculture issues a statement saying, "In the past few years there have been several instances of dealers buying and selling obviously stolen animals and of a few research facilities obtaining animals under questionable circumstances." 5
The U.S. Department of Agriculture cites Class B dealer Ervin Stebane of Wisconsin 27 times for improper and inadequate housing, 17 times for not providing palatable food and water, and 11 times for inadequate sanitation and waste disposal. According to agency reports, inspectors found dogs and cats in outside cages in all seasons, without any protection from sub-freezing temperatures, snow, rain or sun.
1966: LIFE magazine publishes an article about Class B dealers titled "Concentration Camps for Dogs."
1966: President Johnson signs the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act—later renamed the Animal Welfare Act—into law.
1 Wilson, A. and Porter, S. (2005, October 20) Why is this dog smiling? Fayetteville Free Weekly.
2 Family Pet Protection Act, Pet Safety and Protection Act: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry of the House of Representatives. 104th Cong., 2nd Sess. (1996)
3 Audit Report APHIS Animal Care Program Inspection and Enforcement Activities. Office of Inspector General, Midwest Region, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Report No. 33600-01-Ch; January 1995.
4 http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2000/11/letters.htm
5 http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/pubs/96symp/awasymp.htm
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