skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Rescued Research Beagles Get New "Leash" on Life

play audio
Play

Thursday, June 9, 2011   

Nine beagles who have spent their lives in cages in a research lab got their first taste of freedom, when they were rescued Wednesday by animal-rights advocates. The rescue took place in California, but has ramifications across the nation.

More than 67,000 dogs are used annually in U.S. laboratory testing of everything from surgical techniques to industrial chemicals. Attorney Shannon Keith says her volunteer rescue team has to move quickly, because when a research facility calls, it gives them only a day or two to come get the dogs before they're put down.

The beagles aren't sure how to handle their new freedom, Keith says.

"They stayed in their crates for 15 minutes before they actually took a step outside onto the grass. They were so scared. They had no idea what to do. So, it's bittersweet. We're all crying, but we're smiling at the same time."

Eventually, Keith says, the dogs started running around and their tails started wagging. Rescued research dogs have special needs, however, and many have been de-barked so they can't communicate as a normal dog would. Keith's goal is to rehabilitate them to become adoptable pets.

Beagles are the most common type of dog used in research when larger animals than mice or rats are needed, says Martin Stephens, vice president for animal research issues at the Humane Society of the United States. More of them are being rescued, he says, although the cases are rarely publicized.

"Even though you would think that's a good deed to do that, a lot of universities (or) companies don't want to call attention to the fact that they're using dogs in the first place. So, they keep something like this quiet."

Donations and adoptive families are helpful, says Keith, who founded the Beagle Freedom Project in California, one of only a few in the country focused on rescuing research animals. Just as important, she adds, is sending a message to the research industry by purchasing products that are not tested on animals.

"Those products will say either 'cruelty-free' or 'not tested on animals.' Another way to be involved is to actively protest those companies that do still test on animals when they're not required to do so."

The number of dogs used in research has decreased with advancements in technology and testing procedures, said Stephens, who is hopeful that animals will someday not be needed in research at all because better science will have made it unnecessary. In the meantime, groups such as Keith's Beagle Freedom Project say they'll save and rehabilitate as many as they can.

Information on the Beagle Freedom Project is online at beaglefreedomproject.com.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021