DowDuPont unit to stop pesticide tests on beagles
- Three dozen dogs will be released from a Michigan lab where they were used for testing pesticides
- DowDuPont unit Corteva Agrisciences was doing contract work for Brazil, which mandated animal testing
- The testing program was discovered by the Human Society of the U.S., which launched a petition drive to end it
A campaign seeking the release of 36 beagles being fed pesticides at a Michigan laboratory has succeeded, the company that contracted for the controversial tests and the Humane Society of the United States said Monday. Corteva Agriscience, a division of DowDuPont, said Brazilian authorities agreed to waive the test involving three dozen dogs at the Charles River Laboratories in Mattawan, Mich.
"We have immediately ended the study that was the subject of attention last week and will make every effort to rehome the animals that were part of the study," Corteva tweeted.
The development was greeted warmly by the Humane Society, which called it a win in a global battle against animal testing. "We applaud Corteva for making the right decision by ending the test and urge them to work with us to get the dogs out of the laboratory and to our shelter and rescue partners so they can be adopted," Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Human Society, wrote in a blog post.
The Humane Society last week released the findings of an undercover investigation of the lab. The probe conducted from April to August found the dogs were force-fed a fungicide, according to the Humane Society.
After the group publicized its findings, dog lovers from across the country signed an online petition calling for an end to the testing that had been scheduled to conclude in July, at which time the beagles were to be euthanized. In its statement on social media, Corteva said for years it had advocated with Brazil's health regulatory agency to change its rules mandating animal testing with pesticides.
