Class B dealers are licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to buy animals from "random sources" (meaning animals not bred or raised on the dealers' property) and sell them to animal research facilities for biomedical research, testing, and educational purposes. Such random sources for dogs and cats include auctions, flea markets, or animal shelters.
Class B dealers also buy animals from "bunchers," another group of people who collect animals from random sources. Unlike dealers, bunchers are not regulated, which creates additional problems with enforcement. Class B dealers and bunchers have been known to acquire lost, stray, and "free to a good home," dogs and cats, and even pets from their owners' backyards.
In addition to concerns about the sources of animals that enter the Class B dealer network, there are also questions about the treatment of the animals while they are being held at dealer facilities awaiting sale for research. Numerous documented cases of mistreatment and neglect, as well as animal welfare violations, have occurred at Class B facilities. However, many dealers with Animal Welfare Act violations have not lost their licenses or faced serious sanction. By its own admission, the USDA lacks the necessary resources to track the interstate activities of Class B dealers.
As of 2006, only 15 Class B dealers sell dogs and cats to research institutions in the United States.
The Humane Society of the United States would like to see the elimination of Class B Dealers altogether. This would not end the use of dogs and cats in research, but would at least ensure that animals slated for research would not suffer ill-treatment in the Class B dealer pipeline.
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