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The Animal Welfare Cause
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Loading...Class B Dealer Violates AWA for the Eighth Time, Still Operating
In May, a local news station in Grand Rapids, MI ran an investigative piece prompted by a tip titled “Who is Policing Animal Safety?” The piece focused on R&R Research, a random source Class B dealer that procures animals for research facilities, its violations and why it was still in operation.
From the post How Many Violations Does it Take to Get a Class B Dealer Shut Down?
The report highlighted the fact that R&R Research has multiple violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) under its belt, yet the USDA has failed to shut it down. These violations go as far back as 1981 when the owner, James Woudenberg, was using “cervical dislocation and cerebral hemorrhage” as a means of euthanasia. He’s since graduated to more inhumane methods.
The list of violations goes on and on and includes unsanitary conditions, inaccurate record keeping, leaving dogs in freezing temperatures, dead puppies left in kennels, gassing large dogs, leaving sick and injured animals untreated, transporting animals in a livestock trailer by chaining them to the side and so on. R&R Research was also listed in the Yellow Pages under animal shelter and animal control.
R&R Research was fined multiple times for not holding animals for the required number of days and was cited for illegally sourcing animals multiple times by taking animals off the street and accepting them from people who were not the original owner.
Not surprisingly, R&R Research was just caught again in June for illegally acquiring randomly sourced animals for the EIGHTH TIME, which violates the Protection of Pets section of the AWA. The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), which is responsible for enforcing the Animal Welfare Act and inspecting commercial breeders and brokers, can revoke a license after three violations, yet they have failed to do so in this case.
TAKE ACTION
The Pet Safety and Protection Act, which would shut down Class B dealers, has been reintroduced in Congress. Please sign the petition below asking your representatives to support this act, which will help give pets a second chance and keep them out of labs.
The American Anti-Vivisection Society is also renewing its efforts to get R&R Research shut down. Visit AAVS to watch the video footage of about R&R Research and send a letter to the USDA asking them to shut this facility down.
Related Posts:
Give Pets a Second Chance: Get Rid of Class B Dealers
Animal Experiments Increase in Labs
FDA Approves Alternative to Animal Testing for Botox
Read more: AAVS, animal broker, animal cruelty, animal research, animal testing, class b dealer, usda
Photo credit: daoro via flickr
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141 comments
+ add your own~Someone is not doing their job correctly!!~Shut this place down for good!!~
What a disgrace. It breaks my heart.
The USDA is a morally bankrupt agency that operates as a tool of the even more corrupt agribusiness conglomerates.
That agency is NOT concerned one iota about protecting Animals. However the USDA may concern itself with enforcing health rules to protect the public - humans - its loyalty is to the corporations.
The only way to get the USDA to go to bat for Animals, pet se, is through openly expressed public outrage directed as much at the agency's own failure as directed at the abusers' crimes.
Because the USDA is an accessory to these horrific crimes before and after the fact
Why does our government continually fall short on its duties? This "person", and I use that term loosely, needs jail time and now!! Let's end animal testing and get rid of monsters like this in America!
WTF USDA? What kind of crooked employees are working at the USDA to allow this operation to continue after this many violations? Get rid of all Class B dealers!
Signed. Wondering why they can't get this done?
Signed & shared ,Thanks! Cheers
This is too sad.
Signed, thanks. Close them down, write your Congresspeople:
www.congress.org
USDA, please have some courage, principles and common sense. Please! We need you to step up!
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