Georgia Regents University to stop buying dogs for research from questionable dealers

Georgia Regents University in Augusta has agreed to stop purchasing dogs from questionable dealers for use in its medical research in order to keep its federal funding.

Last month, the National Institutes of Health issued a policy change restricting funding for dogs from Class B dealers. Class B dealers buy animals from random sources, like pounds or dog auctions, and in some cases the animals may have been stolen.

In anticipation of the new policy, which will take effect Oct. 1, GRU changed its rules, university officials said in a statement released this week. NIH issued a similar policy for cats in October 2012.

The decision comes two months after an undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the United States found the school had used a Class B dealer to provide dogs for dental experiments. At that time, the animal advocacy group claimed the institution was performing unnecessary and painful dental experiments on dogs in its research labs.

Kathleen Conlee, the Humane Society’s vice president of animal research issues, called GRU’s decision a “significant step forward,” but said the university still has work to do.

“We would like them to altogether end the dental studies that we brought to light in our investigation,” she said Tuesday. “There are other animals used at the university, and we found what we believe are violations of the animal welfare act.”