Where do animals in research laboratories come from?
A majority of animals in laboratories are purpose-bred—that is, bred specifically for biomedical research and testing. Those who sell purpose-bred animals are categorized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as class A dealers. Some of the dogs and cats used in laboratories are purchased from brokers, otherwise known as class B dealers, who acquire the animals at auctions, from newspaper ads, or from various other sources including some animal shelters (a practice known as “pound seizure”). Pound seizure laws vary from state to state with a few states requiring shelters to give up their animals for research and some prohibiting the seizure of shelter animals for research. Some states have no laws at all, leaving it up to the individual shelter or locality. Click here to see our position statement on pound seizure. Finally, some animals in research are taken from the wild—including nonhuman primates, rodents, birds, and others.
