Vol-02 No. 1, January 2012. pmd

Sources of animals for research:
Animals used by laboratories are largely supplied by
specialist dealers. Sources differ for vertebrate and
invertebrate animals. Most laboratories breed and raise
flies and worms themselves, using strains and mutants
supplied from a few main stock centers
44
. For vertebrates,
sources include breeders who supply purpose-bred
animals; businesses that trade in wild animals; and dealers
who supply animals sourced from pounds, auctions, and
newspaper ads. Animal shelters also supply the
laboratories directly
45
. Large centers also exist to distribute
strains of genetically-modified animals; the National
Institutes of Health Knockout Mouse Project, for example,
aims to provide knockout mice for every gene in the mouse
genome
46
.

In the U.S., Class A breeders are licensed by
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to sell animals
for research purposes, while Class B dealers are licensed
to buy animals from “random sources” such as auctions,
pound seizure, and newspaper ads. Some Class B dealers
have been accused of kidnapping pets and illegally
trapping strays, a practice known as ‘bunching’
47
.
 
Four
states in the U.S. - Minnesota, Utah, Oklahoma, and Iowa
— require their shelters to provide animals to research
facilities. Fourteen states explicitly prohibit the practice,
while the remainder either allow it or have no relevant
“Health Science” The Journal of Popular Medical College
Vol. 02, No. 01, January 2012
30

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legislation
48
. In the European Union, animal sources are
governed by Council Directive 86/609/EEC, which requires
lab animals to be specially bred, unless the animal has
been lawfully imported and is not a wild animal or a stray
49
.
In the UK, most animals used in experiments are bred for
the purpose under the 1988 Animal Protection Act, but
wild-caught primates may be used if exceptional and
specific justification can be established
25
.