New US bill will place survivors of laboratory experiments into loving homes
This week, Congressman Tony Cárdenas (CA-29) introduced H.R. 8001, the Companion Animal Release from Experiments (CARE Act).
The bill would ensure that research facilities across the entire United States in receipt of funding from the National Institutes of Health develop and implement adoption policies for dogs, cats and rabbits no longer used for research.
“It’s simple: if a research facility uses pets for research, then they must work to find them homes,” said Congressman Cárdenas. “We experiment on over 200,000 dogs, cats, and rabbits each year. The least we can do is give these living beings a chance at life in a loving home. My bill requires research facilities funded by the NIH to develop adoption policies for those animals. This is part of a larger effort to move away from animal-based testing and research wherever possible and toward more humane and sound scientific research.”
For over a year we have been working to fill the gaps in existing law that only cover research in specific states and in existing bills that cover federally-owned laboratories but not private laboratories or universities that receive federal funds. The CARE Act is the missing piece. As the bill states, “A national requirement is needed to ensure that research institutions that receive tax payer funding establish adoption policies for companion animals that are no longer used for research, including finding such animals a home and adopting transparent policies concerning the success of such requirement” .
The bill also means research facilities must maintain records on the number of dogs, cats, or rabbits used, the number of animals released for adoption and the number of animals destroyed and make this information publicly available on their website.
Monica Engebretson our Head of Public Affairs for North America said, “The Companion Animal Release from Experiments Act builds on what eleven states have already done by requiring post-research adoption policies for dogs, cats, and rabbits used in tax-payer funded extramural research across the entire United States. The bill also provides for a high-level of public accountability and transparency about the adoption programs and their success. Shelters and rescue organizations across the United States place thousands of dogs, cats, and rabbits into loving homes each year and many are eager to do the same for laboratory survivors. We thank Representative Cardenas for introducing this important bill and for his humane leadership.”
You can help by asking your US Representative to become a cosponsor of H.R. 8001 and by promoting the bill on social media using the hashtag #SendSurvivorsHome