Laboratory animal sources

Dealers in the United States

All laboratories using vertebrate lab animals in the United States are required by law to have a licensed veterinarian on staff and to adhere to the NIH Guide for the Use and Care of Laboratory Animals, which further stipulates that all protocols, including the sources for obtaining the animals, must be reviewed by an independent committee.

Class A dealers

Class A breeders are licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to sell animals bred specifically for research. In July 2004, there were 4,117 licensed Class A dealers in the United States.

Class B dealers

Class B dealers are licensed by the USDA to buy animals from "random sources". This refers to animals who were not purpose-bred or raised on the dealers' property. Animals from "random sources" come from auctions, pounds, newspaper ads (including "free-to-home" ads), and some may be stolen pets or illegally trapped strays. As of February 2013, there were only seven active Class B dealers remaining in the United States. However, these sources round up "thousands" of cats and dogs each year for sale.

Animal shelters

Animals are also sold directly to laboratories by shelters. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Iowa, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah require publicly funded shelters to surrender animals to any Class B dealer who asks for them. Fourteen states prohibit the practice, and the remainder either have no relevant legislation, or permit the practice in certain circumstances.

Bunching

According to a paper presented to the American Society of Criminology in 2006, an illegal economy in the theft of pets, mostly dogs, has emerged in the U.S. in recent years, with the thieves known as "bunchers". The bunchers sell the animals to Class B animal dealers, who pay $25 per animal. The dealers then sell the animals to universities, medical and veterinary schools, and companies providing animal-testing services. Lawrence Salinger and Patricia Teddlie of Arkansas State University told the conference that these institutions pay up to $500 for a stolen animal, who is often accompanied by forged documents and fake health certificates. Salinger and Teddlie argue that the stolen animals may affect research results, because they come from unknown backgrounds and have an uncertain health profile. Conversely the Foundation for Biomedical Research claim that pets being stolen for animal research is largely an urban myth and that the majority of stolen dogs are most likely used for dog fighting.

The largest Class B dealer in dogs in the U.S. was investigated for bunching by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2005. Chester C. Baird, of Martin Creek Kennels and Pat's Pine Tree Farms in Willifore, Arkansas, lost his licence after being convicted of 100 counts of animal abuse and neglect, and of stealing pets for laboratories and forging documentation. The criminal charges were filed after an eight-year investigation by an animal protection group, Last Chance for Animals. The group filmed over 72 hours of undercover video at Martin Creek Kennels, which included footage of dogs being shot. In 2006, HBO produced Dealing Dogs, a documentary film based on this footage.

Baird's customers included the University of Missouri, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and Oregon State University. According to the Humane Society of the United States, Missouri was experiencing such a high rate of pet theft that animal protection groups had dubbed it the "Steal Me State". In a 2008 article, Last Chance for Animals estimated that around two million pets are stolen in the U.S. each year.