TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — A non-profit organization dedicated to cruelty-free science announced a grant for the Beagle Freedom Project to help with the rehabilitation of over 200 dogs and cats rescued in Oklahoma.
The National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) is providing a $25,000 grant to the Beagle Freedom project to assist with medical care for over 200 dogs and cats rescued from an animal testing laboratory.
On February 14, the Beagle Freedom Project announced that it shut down an animal testing laboratory in Nowata, Oklahoma, effectively ending one-third of the flea and tick testing industry and decades of cruel experimentation.
Beagle Freedom Project is revamping the 30-acre property and facilities, where these animals were once held captive and tested, into a rescue, rehabilitation, and adoption center called Freedom Fields.
“NAVS is happy to assist Beagle Freedom Project in this historic lab closure and large-scale rescue. Through the NAVS Animal Sanctuary Assistance Program, we provide vital assistance to rescue groups and sanctuaries like BFP that are rescuing, finding homes for, and, in many cases, providing lifelong care to survivors of animal experimentation,” said Kim Ayala, NAVS Senior Manager of Operations. “This victory is a testament to the extraordinary work being done by BFP and we hope this grant will allow them to provide urgent medical care to the rescued survivors as they begin to heal and start their new lives of freedom.”
In November 2022, BFP received a grant from NAVS to purchase a recreational vehicle to conduct rescues across the country. The RV’s maiden voyage was made to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in December 2023 to rescue dogs from a research facility.
“Now, over 200 dogs and cats are free while BFP begins renovating this former laboratory into Freedom Fields,” said Beagle Freedom Project President and Founder Shannon Keith. “We could never have done this without the support of NAVS which assisted us in securing a rescue vehicle to transport the animals to safety and in providing urgent medical care for them.”
In 2021 (the most recent year that data from the Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service is available), more than 62,000 dogs and cats were used in experiments in the United States. Nearly 29 percent of these dogs and cats were in experiments that caused pain or stress. If they are not killed after use in research, these animals that spend their lives in laboratories often need significant medical attention and rehabilitation before they can find a forever home.
Original Source: News Channel 8