Support the Pet Safety and Protection Act

Unfortunately, there are some situations where pet owners can no longer continue to care for their animals. While owners may try to give their pets a second chance at having a forever home, they may be unwittingly putting them in situations where they can become the victims of Class B dealers. 

Class B dealers are brokers who find and sell dogs and cats to schools and research institutions for a profit. Their methods of acquisition range from going to shelters and answering classified ads to grabbing strays or stealing pets who are left unattended. Class B dealers also buy animals from "bunchers," who collect animals from random sources.

These brokers are licensed and regulated by the USDA and are responsible for following animal care guidelines outlined by the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), which is intended to help prevent lost or stolen pets from ending up in research facilities. The AWA also requires these dealers to obtain animals from licensed shelters, licensed breeders or from owners who have bred and raised animals on their property.

APHIS, which is responsible for inspections of commercial breeders and brokers and upholding the AWA, has continuously failed to keep animals safe by holding these brokers accountable for their inability to provide even the most basic care, leaving animals to suffer while brokers continue to flout the law and operate with multiple violations including failure to provide veterinary care, unsanitary conditions, inaccurate record keeping and illegally obtaining animals, among other violations. 

Sign this petition asking Congress to pass the Pet Safety and Protection Act to ensure that randomly sourced and lost or stolen pets don't end up becoming test subjects in cruel experiments by shutting Class B dealers down for good. 


As someone who cares about the welfare of animals, I respectfully urge you to support the reintroduced Pet Safety and Protection Act (H.R. 2849), which will shut down Class B dealers.


Class B dealers, who sell animals to research facilities and education institutions, have an abysmal history of violating the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). Time and again, they have failed to provide the most basic care, left sick and injured animals to suffer untreated, have been cited for poor record keeping, have obtained animals illegally and falsified documents. Their methods of acquisition range from going to shelters and answering classified ads to grabbing strays or stealing pets who are left unattended.


Most of these Class B dealers have been repeatedly cited for violating the AWA, and yet they continue to flout the law and stay in business. 


The USDA and APHIS have failed to keep animals safe and hold these dealers accountable for their cruelty and negligence at taxpayer expense.  


Please support and cosponsor the Pet Safety and Protection Act, which will amend the AWA to put Class B dealers out of business and protect animals by ensuring that randomly sourced animals and lost or stolen pets do not end up as the subjects of research experiments.  

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