CHAPTER
3
THE SUPPLY OF CATS AND DOGS TO LABORATORIES
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The European Directive 86/609/EEC (29), the framework for national
legislation, contains many requirements about the supply of
animals, especially cats, dogs and primates. In the case of
cats and dogs, this reflects the deep concern that animals of
species which are kept as pets, if used in laboratories, should
at least be properly bred and supplied specifically for that
purpose. In particular, one-time pets who have known the comfort
of a family home should not endure the suffering which would
be involved if they were transferred to laboratory conditions.
For as long as cats and dogs are used in research, this is the
very minimum protection that a civilised human society has a
duty to provide.
The requirements of Directive 86/609
The Directive requires that establishments which breed and/or
supply animals to laboratories should be approved by or registered
with the national authority (Article 15). Article 21 states,
further, that cats and dogs to be used in laboratories should
be bred specifically for that purpose (i.e. be ‘purpose-bred’)
“…unless a special or general exemption has been
obtained under arrangements determined by the [national] authority”.
Even when a national authority allows an exemption to the requirement
that cats and dogs should be purpose-bred, Article 19 [4] does
not permit the use of stray cats or dogs under any circumstances.
A supplying establishment shall normally obtain animals from
an approved or registered breeding establishment, or from another
approved or registered supplier. The exact wording in Article
15 is: “A supplying establishment shall obtain animals
only from a breeding or other supplying establishment unless
the animal has been imported and is not a feral or stray animal”
(emphasis added).
Cats and dogs (and primates) must normally be individually marked
before weaning or, if impossible, as soon as possible afterwards.
Records of the identity and origin of each dog, cat or primate
must be kept by each breeding and supplying establishment and
by user laboratories (Article 18). Veterinary inspectors should
check the records held by laboratories (Article 19 [5]).
Purpose-bred dogs and cats
The clear intent of the Directive is that, as a general rule,
cats and dogs should be purpose-bred and obtained from an approved
or registered breeding establishment. A laboratory may breed
its own animals as long as it is properly approved or registered.
Suppliers may also be used as long as the animals originate
from another authorised or registered supplier or from a breeder.
The use of non-purpose-bred cats and dogs by a laboratory requires
the permission of the national authority and should be seen
as an exception to the rule, and should be adequately justified.
If necessary, cats and dogs may be obtained from a non-EU country
as long as they are not feral or stray animals. The use of stray
or feral animals is always prohibited.
Thus the Directive seeks to ensure that the supply of cats and
dogs is regulated to eliminate the possibility that ex-pets,
stolen pets, strays and feral animals are used in laboratories.
That is also why it requires every cat and dog to be marked,
as well as detailed records kept for each individual animal.
Despite these provisions, some EU member states have used stray
or pet dogs and cats in experiments – for example Portugal
and Belgium. It is not always easy to identify cats who were
once pets, but in the case of dogs, the use of mixed-breeds
(mongrels) in laboratories suggests that they were not purpose-bred;
and so, may have been stolen or strays. This is because virtually
all dogs specially bred for laboratories are beagles, due to
their convenient size and weight, short coats, ease of handling
and the availability of historical data for this breed. Occasionally
larger dogs, such as labradors, are used in experimental surgery.
While beagles are inappropriate for research into breed-related
veterinary conditions (such as eye diseases in Irish setters),
such research is a tiny minority of the experiments using dogs.
In such cases pure-breed dogs (rather than mongrels) would be
used.
Most laboratories using purpose-bred dogs therefore acquire
beagles. If they use mongrel dogs there has to be a suspicion
that these are strays, or stolen ex-pets – strictly forbidden
by the Directive. Moreover, research results from variable mongrels
of uncertain origin cannot be considered as scientifically reliable
as results obtained from purpose-bred dogs.
Unfortunately it is clear from scientific papers published by
French scientists that mongrels are still widely used, indicating
that many researchers are given exemptions from the purpose-bred
requirements under Directive 86/609. Of the six Case Studies
of dogs in this Report, two involved mongrels and four involved
beagles (see Chapter 6).
These exemptions provide a loophole by which it is possible
that ex-pets, and stolen or straying cats and dogs are experimented
upon in laboratories. As long as there are exemptions to the
purpose-bred requirements, the public cannot have confidence
that much-loved pets will not end their days suffering in a
laboratory.
Some of these issues were addressed in the report of the mission
for information, published in December 2001 (30). The report
emphasises the need for France to implement fully the Articles
of Directive 86/609. It also states that the mission for information
was convinced that stolen dogs and cats are still illegally
supplied to laboratories for experiments.
Although it is essential that France complies with the provisions
of the Directive, One Voice does not believe that purpose-breeding
dogs and cats means there is no longer any concern about their
well-being. It does not support the establishment of new breeding
or supplying companies. This course of action may well result
in the over-production of animals, which either encourages further
experimentation or leads to healthy cats and dogs being killed
as surplus to requirements. As long as experiments on dogs and
cats continue, there will be distress and suffering –
both in the means of supply and in the laboratories themselves.
Importing from other countries
Transporting cats and dogs over long distances from other countries,
possibly with low standards of care and housing, is highly undesirable.
The transport of animals involves many highly stressful (31)
experiences including removal from familiar surroundings and
confinement in small, sometimes poorly-ventilated travel crates.
There is the possibility of over-heating in a lorry or chilling
in the hold of a plane, as well as many frightening sounds,
sights and smells. Repeated sudden movements become exhausting.
On long journeys there may be inadequate stops for rest, feeding
and watering – one of the Case Studies in Chapter 6 involved
dogs being imported from as far away as the USA.
Animals have died during transport. A high-profile case occurred
in 1989, when 79 beagles from Perrycroft Kennels in Britain
suffocated to death in a lorry on board a ferry bound for Sweden.
Although this number of deaths en route was unusual, most cats
and dogs will suffer during transport. It is well-known that
transport causes a rise in stress hormones in the bloodstream,
weight loss, immune system depression and fluid imbalance (32).
Animals obtained from countries which are not member states
of either the EU or the Council of Europe, may not have been
given even minimum standards of care and housing, such as are
laid down in EU Directive 86/609 or in the similar Council of
Europe Convention ETS 123 (33). Importing cats and dogs from
these sources also means that several other provisions of the
Directive, described above, are not enforceable: suppliers in
these countries may not have been approved or inspected; the
animals may not be purpose-bred and proper records of their
origins may not exist. Further, if mongrels are obtained from
non-EU and non-Council of Europe countries, it is very difficult
for the Ministry to ensure that they are not stolen pets or
strays.
The official statistics show that between 1993 and 1999, the
proportion of dogs obtained from French breeders or suppliers
remained fairly constant, between 60 and 67 per cent. But the
percentage of cats obtained from within France fluctuated between
45 and 99 per cent over the same period, with no sign of a desirable
upwards trend. Table 3, below, summarises these statistics.
Table 3 The sources of cats and dogs used in laboratories, 1993-1999
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
Year
|
Species |
France |
Other
EU countries |
Council
of Europe countries |
Other
sources# |
Animals
re-used |
Total |
1993 |
Cats
Dogs
|
1 128
3 302 |
0
24 |
-
- |
12
1 639 |
-
- |
1 140
4 965 |
1997 |
Cats
Dogs
|
887
2 564 |
831
86 |
415
364 |
83
1 458 |
*226
*182 |
1 990
4 290 |
1999 |
Cats
Dogs
|
1 176
3 130 |
492
541 |
0
0 |
187
1 532 |
**86
**266 |
1 855
5 203 |
- This category was not provided in 1993.
# These are non-EU and non-Council of Europe countries
* Due to the format of the 1997 official statistics, the total
number of cats and dogs in column 6 is the sum of columns 1
to 4 minus the number in column 5.
** Due to the format of the 1999 official statistics, the total
number of cats and dogs in column 6 is the sum of columns 1
to 4.
_____________________________________________________________________
Particularly worrying
is the fact that many cats and dogs are indeed obtained from
countries which are not members of the EU or of the Council
of Europe. About one-third of all dogs used in France between
1993 and 1999 were obtained from these countries, and were mainly
used by private rather than public sector laboratories. The
proportion of dogs from these sources has not decreased over
the six-year period. The sourcing of cats from non-EU, non-Council
of Europe countries is at a lower level (1 to 10 per cent),
but steadily increased between 1993 and 1999. It is therefore
clear that the Ministry has permitted frequent exemptions to
Article 15 of the Directive, requiring cats and dogs to be obtained
from authorised sources, which then makes it difficult to comply
with Articles 18, 19[4] and 21.
Suffering is inevitable
Although the suffering of cats and dogs kept in breeding and
supplying establishments and in laboratories can be minimised,
it cannot be eliminated. Even authorisation and inspection cannot
always ensure proper standards. Establishments which breed and
supply animals for profit wish to limit their expenditure on
animal welfare provisions. The conditions in which cats and
dogs are kept in these establishments, and in laboratories,
are far different from those experienced by pet cats and dogs
in caring homes. They are also far removed from the conditions
which would satisfy their basic physiological and behavioural
needs (see Chapter 1).
Dogs and cats destined for laboratories do not receive individual
care and often endure restricted and barren conditions in unnatural
surroundings. They have a limited ability to exercise or socialise,
receive a bland diet, and minor ailments and wounds can be overlooked.
Some animals are kept singly without opportunities to socialise.
In the case of dogs this is very stressful, as illustrated by
repetitive, stereotyped behaviour such as pacing, circling and
jumping. When there is a temporary over-production of animals,
a company will kill healthy young cats and dogs who are excess
to requirements. Animals with minor defects are also often destroyed.
In one of the Case Studies in this Report (Chapter
6), beagles were obtained from Harlan in France. An undercover
investigation of Harlan (UK) by the British Union for the Abolition
of Vivisection (BUAV) revealed poor standards of husbandry and
care of dogs (34). Routine medication was not always maintained,
and infections and injuries were often diagnosed belatedly.
Record-keeping was inadequate and standards of hygiene were
criticised. Sometimes there were not enough staff to look after
the beagles. Many of the BUAV’s allegations were upheld
by the report of the British Home Office’s Chief Inspector
(35). Thus even registered breeders and suppliers may have poor
standards.
As long as dogs and cats are used in laboratories, purpose-breeding
is the least harmful approach. However, it should be understood
that, even so, the supply of cats and dogs to laboratories inevitably
causes suffering and unjustifiable deaths.
(29) Council
Directive 86/609/EEC of 24 November 1986 on the approximation
of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member
States regarding the protection of animals used for experimental
and other scientific purposes, Official Journal of the European
Communities L358, 1-29
(30) Rapport d’Information par la Commission de la Production
et des Echanges sur l’identification des chiens et des
chats, leur commercialisation et l’approvisionnement des
centres d’expérimentation, 12 décembre 2001
(31) J MacArthur Clark [1999] The Dog, in: The UFAW Handbook
on the Care and Management of Laboratory Animals, Volume 1:
Terrestrial Vertebrates, Seventh Edition. Oxford: Blackwell
Science
(32) JJ Swallow [1999] Transporting Animals, in: The UFAW Handbook
on the Care and Management of Laboratory Animals, Volume 1:
Terrestrial Vertebrates, Seventh Edition. Oxford: Blackwell
Science
(33) Council of Europe Convention (ETS 123) for the protection
of vertebrate animals used for experimental and other scientific
purposes, 1986
(34) BUAV [1999] A report into the breeding and supplying of
dogs (and other animals) at Harlan UK Hillcrest. Findings of
a BUAV investigation.
(35) Report to Ministers by the Animals (Scientific Procedures)
Inspectorate concerning ‘A report into the breeding and
supplying of dogs (and other animals) at Harlan UK Hillcrest
– findings of a BUAV investigation’, 1999
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