2-20-00

To the Editor:

An urban myth seems to be developing in Evansville. And much like the story of crocodiles being found in the sewers of New York City, reports about pets being sold into research have just about the same basis in fact.

My heart goes out to those in the Evansville area who have recently lost their dogs. I do want to reassure them, however, that it is extremely unlikely their animals are in research facilities.

Animal rights organizations estimate as many as 2 million dogs are stolen every year. Yet in 1998, just 76,071 dogs were in medical research facilities. Of that number, nearly half were specially bred for research.

Dogs and cats combined account for less than 1 percent of the total number of research animals (most are rodents). If a dog is not specially bred, it is purchased from a federally regulated animal dealer or obtained from a pound, where it otherwise would have been put to death.

The U.S. Animal Welfare Act includes tough restrictions on how and from whom dogs can be acquired for research purposes. A federally mandated waiting period is imposed on shelters to ensure no lost or stolen pet is included with those sold to dealers. Dealers must complete and maintain extensive paperwork on each animal, and that paperwork transfers to the research institutions, which must keep it for three years.

Dogs are indeed stolen – some for ransom, others to be used in illegal dog fights or for hunting, others to be sold in black markets overseas. But most often when a pet disappears, it has been hit by a car, attacked by a wild animal, poisoned or simply and truly lostÑnot stolen.

Scientists do not want to use any pet dog in their research. Many are pet owners themselves and empathize with the sadness felt today by the families in your area who have lost their dogs.

Jacquie Calnan
President, Americans for Medical Progress Educational Foundation
Alexandria, VA

2-25-2000

To The Editor:

Jacquie Calnan, President of Americans for Medical Progress, a lobbying group which seeks to discredit animal protection organizations and which advocates the use of animals in research, did the companion animals and the citizens of Indiana a great disservice.

In Ms. Calnan's editorial, she stated that a pet dog is less likely to be found in a medical research laboratory than a crocodile is to be found in the sewers of New York City. That statement is misleading and untrue and was meant to lull everyone in Indiana, including the police, into a state of complacency which will allow the dog dealers [thieves] and their research clients to continue unimpeded with business as usual.

Stolen dogs and cats may be sold to many different clients for many uses, including dog fighting rings as fighters or as bait, to "puppy mills" for breeding, as meat for human consumption, as prey for exotic animals, as fur for clothing. However, the most consistent and highest-paying client is often the research industry. High demand animal research has created a multi-million-dollar market for dogs and cats that is run by licensed syndicates as hierarchical and well-protected as organized crime. For many years, the power and prestige of the medical research industry have insured animal dealers hefty incomes. And many authorities have ensured these criminals impunity!

As Manager of the In Defense of Animal's Stolen Pet Hot Line, I have investigated the thefts of companion animals, during which time I have acquired documentation springing from federal investigations of dog dealers acquiring animals through deceit and theft only to re-sell them to laboratories for sometimes as much as $1000 per dog. In the state of Oregon, a man and woman acquired numerous large dogs through misrepresentation and later re-sold 10 dogs to Cedar Sinai in California, 4 dogs to the VA Medical Center in Louisiana, and a number of dogs were sold to the VA in Seattle, Washington. This pair was licensed by the USDA as Class B Animal Dealers [random source] dealers. This is one example among many.

It has been reported that two men driving a reddish truck with a large white dog box in the back have been seen in the area when dogs have turned up missing here in Evansville. In fact, we have had a remarkable break in this case when a family in Kentucky actually witnessed three men in a truck matching the above description steal their much loved coonhound, "Cry Baby," and their black and white beagle two days before Christmas. The family was able to identify the main suspect by viewing an undercover film supplied by In Defense of Animals that had been covertly taped at the Ripley dog auction in Mississippi. In the tape, the suspect was seen with a well-known laboratory supplier. You draw your own conclusions!

Ms. Calnan outlines the various Federal regulations in her editorial. She failed to mention the huge loophole that enables pets to be sold to USDA Class B Animal Dealers and subsequently end up in labs. Class B (random source) Dealers are required by federal law to only purchase animals from pounds and people who have "home raised" the animals, yet the fact is, there is no reliable way to prove that an animal at auction or at any other time has been raised on the seller's property. And therein lies the problem.

In conclusion, your pet is viewed as a commodity. Never leave your dog or cat unattended, because thieves will take full advantage and you will probably never see your pet again! Have your pet tattooed or micro chipped. If you witness strange trucks or vans cruising in your neighborhood, please investigate their activities, get a license plate number and call the police. In Defense of Animals offers a $2500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of pet thieves. Please call: 1-800- Stolen Pet. For more information, please visit our web site at: www.idausa.org and view our Companion Animal Theft Campaign.

Gretchen Hersman,
Director, Midwest Regional Office
In Defense Of Animals
Stolen Pet Program
Tel/Fax: 319-643-2175
1-800-STOLEN-PET [1-800-786-5367]
West Branch, IA 52358
email: ida@idausa.org