ohmidog!

Despite easily available alternatives, more than half of American colleges and universities are using live and dead dogs and cats for teaching and training purposes — including animals that were once pets, according to a new report.

The report, “Dying to Learn: Exposing the Supply of Dogs and Cats to Higher Education,” is the result of a two-year investigation by the American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS). The report was released today by Animalearn, the education division of AAVS.

You can download the full report, learn how to take action, and explore alternatives to animal dissection at the new AAVS website, dyingtolearn.org.

The report says 52 percent of the colleges and universities covered in the study still used dogs and cats to teach and train students in life science, veterinary, and medical education.

According to the report, former pets are also ending up in the mix — either obtained by universities directly from shelters, or sold to universities by an animal dealer. With more pets ending up in shelters due to the economic downturn, the likelihood of that happening is growing.

“The numbers of pets being relinquished to shelters is drastically increasing. This puts an ever increasing number of former pets at risk of ending up in labs,” said Animalearn Director Laura Ducceschi.

The report traces the route that sent dogs like Cruella, a shepherd-mix from Michigan to end up being used in a college laboratory. Once someone’s pet, she was purchased from a shelter and sold to a university. The dogs and cats are used for live surgeries and other procedures.

The reported looked at animal acquisition procedures at 92 public colleges and universities in the U.S.

All categories of animal dealers supplying dogs and cats to public colleges and universities have track records of violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act, the report says. The act regulates the care and use of animals supplied and used in laboratories and other industries.

Of particular concern, the report notes, are the cats and dogs purchased from “random source Class B
animal dealers” who collect animals from shelters and pounds, misleading ads, auctions and other sources. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) admitted in its 2007 Animal Welfare Report that “some of these dealers may be trafficking in stolen animals.”

“Congress should act to cut off the supply of pets to labs by banning random source Class B dealers and the use of random source animals in general,” said Tracie Letterman, executive director of the American Anti-Vivisection Society. The society, founded in 1883, monitors the use of animals in science.

On the brighter side, the report says many colleges and universities that have implemented alternatives to using animals, including virtual dissection and technologically advanced surgical simulations. Many have adopted, often at the behest of students, Student Choice Policies which allow students the right to choose a humane alternative to harmful animal use.

Animalearn, the educational division of the American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS), works with educators, students and others to achieve quality humane science education without harmful use of animals.