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A Message from Ellie Hansen—Producer & Host of the Dog Research Exposed Podcast…
The year 2023 was very challenging for me. I lost two of my beagles, Marty and Eddie, due to age-related health issues in the spring. Both were rescued from research laboratories. Both taught me how resilient and loving former research dogs are, and I was blessed to have them in my life for nine amazing years.
Then at the end of the summer, I lost my business which I founded, owned, and worked at for 16 years. The reasons for this were truly out of my control, but needless to say, it was one of the toughest moments of my life.
But, I believe that major life change also opens up new possibilities.
Amid all these changes, I welcomed a new member of my family—a two-year-old beagle named Cedric who I adopted from Kindness Ranch Animal Sanctuary. Cedric was rescued from Envigo, a massive research beagle breeding facility in Cumberland, VA that is now closed due to numerous animal welfare violations. Over 4,000 beagles were set free from Envigo and found loving homes…Cedric among them.
I also made a radical decision…because I believe that—instead of losing—I’ve been “given” an opportunity to do something unique and powerful that hasn’t been done before to help dogs in research laboratories.
I’m taking the Dog Research Exposed Podcast on a U.S. Tour! My husband Jeremy and I will be living in an RV for the next year with Cedric (our tour mascot!) and our other two dogs, traveling around the U.S. exposing the facts about dog research. The Dog Research Exposed RV will be a moving billboard, all decked out in graphics that no one will be able to miss.
And here’s where I really need your help!
I will be personally delivering the following letter to research facilities that currently use dogs for harmful experiments, asking them to stop this cruelty. That’s correct…I’m going to walk this letter into over 38 research facilities in 26 states.
But, I don’t want my signature to be the only one on it. I’m asking for 48,000 signatures to join mine. Why 48,000? There are approximately 48,000 dogs being experimented on in the U.S as we speak—so that’s one signature for every dog.
Will you help me by signing the letter below and being a voice for these dogs?
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, your institution currently uses dogs in harmful research for the biomedical industry.
Your facility needs to stop using dogs in harmful research because:
- This practice goes against our modern society’s moral and ethical standards…
- Animal cruelty is illegal according to U.S. federal law and corporations shouldn’t be exempt from this law…
- Dogs should be replaced by superior non-animal technology methods which are currently available.
Dogs are considered companion animals and sentient beings capable of experiencing human-like emotion and pain. In a modern society, we should all strive to live life in a manner that we don’t intentionally cause harm to each other, including non-human animals. This unnecessary suffering inflicted upon dogs in your facility has no place in a civilized society.
In 2019, The Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act (PACT) was made federal law. This law bans the act of causing “intentional serious harm to living non-human mammals…”. No corporation—even in the name of science—should be above this law.
Your facility is conducting dog experiments that are no longer required under federal law. In 2022, the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 was passed which eliminated the 80-year-old mandate in the United States requiring drug developers to conduct animal tests before human trials.
We therefore demand that your institution:
Invest in the non-animal technologies currently available to you and cease testing on dogs.
and
Release any dogs within your facility which you no longer need to rescue organizations, instead of euthanizing them.