Mamma Mia, one of 4,000 beagles rescued from Virginia’s Envigo breeding and research facility earlier this year, has found a forever home fit for royalty – but you don’t have to be a prince or princess to give a dog a loving family and a second chance to live.
Seven-year-old Mia has recently moved to California after being given a second chance to live by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
By supporting the Companion Animal Release from Experiments [CARE] Act, you too can help some of the 60,000 dogs, 18,000 cats, and 140,000 rabbits who are bred and used in research in the United States every year. Many of these animals suffer and die in cruel, unreliable tests – including many used in research facilities that receive tax-payer funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Often, they will eventually be considered 'surplus' and no longer wanted by the laboratory – a designation that is frequently a death sentence. But it doesn't have to be.
The CARE Act, championed by Californian Congressman Tony Cárdenas, could ensure that animals are put up for adoption rather than killed when no longer wanted for experiments in laboratories that receive taxpayer funding from the NIH.
The Bill was re-introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives in October 2021 and is currently open for lawmakers to add their names to it in support, making legislative progress more likely.
Congressman Cárdenas said, “It's simple: if a research facility uses pets for research, then they must work to find them homes. We experiment on over 200,000 dogs, cats, and rabbits each year. The least we can do is give these living beings a chance at life in a loving home. My bill requires research facilities funded by the NIH to develop adoption policies for those animals. This is part of a larger effort to move away from animal-based testing and research wherever possible and toward more humane and sound scientific research.”
Monica Engebretson, our North America Head of Public Affairs, said, “The CARE Act has the potential to save hundreds of animals who are all unique individuals with personalities and a desire to live. Organizations across the U.S. are ready to help laboratory survivors find happy endings. Anyone who cares about animals should support the CARE Act.”
The CARE Act would build on what 15 states have already done to encourage the laboratory release of animals for adoption by requiring that research facilities that receive funding from the National NIH develop and implement adoption policies for dogs, cats, and rabbits when no longer used for research. It would also require public transparency by requiring that the adoption polices be made available on the facility’s website and requiring that it keep public records of the number animals released for adoption.
You can help by asking your US Representative to become a cosponsor of the CARE Act and by promoting the bill on social media using the hashtag #SendSurvivorsHome. You can also show your support with our campaign T-shirts and hoodies.
P.S. Want to do more? You can also send your U.S. Representative or state legislator our report, Homing Companion Animals from Laboratories in the United States, which provides an overview of state and federal laws and legislation relevant to the homing of animals formerly used by laboratories and includes our recommendations for maximizing the impact of such efforts.