[Girlie]

<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0606300154jun30,1,7753899.story?page=1&coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed" target="_blank">http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/n...ationworld-hed</a><br><br><br><br><div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Bill aimed at research trade<br><br><br><br>
Activists target dealers who collect animals-- including, some say, stolen pets--for sale to science facilities<br><br>
By Marni Goldberg<br><br><br><br>
Washington Bureau<br><br>
June 30, 2006<br><br><br><br>
WASHINGTON -- He calls it the "blood belt."<br><br><br><br>
Chris DeRose uses that phrase to describe 15 sites, stretching from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania, where dogs and cats gathered from random sources are sold for research. DeRose, president of the non-profit animal welfare group Last Chance for Animals, says dealers at these sites even steal pets from ordinary homes.<br><br><br><br>
His organization has conducted undercover investigations of so-called Class B animal dealers, which are certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to collect animals from flea markets and pounds, among other places, and sell them to research facilities. Last Chance and like-minded groups say the animals are mistreated. But their most incendiary charge is that Class B dealers regularly steal pets from homes and sell them to research facilities for hundreds of dollars.<br><br><br><br>
"Anyone whose animal is missing shouldn't have to stay up at night wondering if their animal ended up in a lab," said Cathy Liss, legislative director for the Society for Animal Protective Legislation.</div>
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[Amy SF]

Thanks for posting this. I could NOT watch that documentary for more than a couple minutes without crying. I hope the bill passes.

 

[peace]

I really hope the HBO special helps set off the tipping point that this bill needs to pass. However, I am not holding my breath.<br><br><br><br>
Propositions to outlaw "B" dealers have been before legislators on several occasions prior (as have anti-leghold trap propositions) and have consistently failed. Even if the the pet-keeping public would like to see this law passed, the truth is the research lobby is far more powerful. Especially considering that most mainstream pet lovers take no involvement in animal politics whatsoever.<br><br><br><br>
Sadly, we have seen the passage of very few pro-animal bills in recent years. Witness the killing blow industry and the USDA keep giving the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.