Thor had been through unimaginable trauma. Last September, the 8-year-old Tibetan mastiff found himself inside a tiny cage at a dog slaughterhouse near Beijing, China. He had to watch as men brutally killed other dogs right in front of him, using them for their meat. Since Thor was a large and physically strong mastiff, the slaughterhouse owner had hired several men to help kill him. But when the men tried killing Thor, the dog fought back. “He was attacking them, they got bitten and so the slaughterhouse owner was upset,”…
Category: In The Press
Eagles and beagles: Super Bowl champ Torrey Smith featured in billboard in support of 'Beagle Bill'
Former Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith, who will now have two Super Bowl rings thanks to the Philadelphia Eagles’ victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday, is still making his presence known in Baltimore. Smith, who last spring made a donation to BARCS that covered the adoption fees for every dog and cat at the animal shelter’s Pawject Runway fundraiser, is now featured on a billboard for the Show Your Soft Side campaign. In the ad, the former Terp holds a beagle, whose name is Lucia, alongside the tagline,…
Rescue Beagles: A Life Away From The Lab
Many research labs across the country use animals for testing products such as make-up or medicines. For the past decade, advocates have pushed to get more of these animals — especially research dogs — adopted after they are no longer needed. Just a handful of states have policies in place. Illinois just recently joined that list. Lucy is a three-year-old beagle who grew up in a research laboratory. Last year, she was rescued by the California-based organization the Beagle Freedom Project who paired her up with Lauren and Scott Knudsen…
Meet 15 Beagles Rescued From China at Vanderpump Dogs!
Today, fifteen beagles rescued in China will arrive in America — and be transported to the best possible place … the Vanderpump Dog Foundation. There, they will languish in splendor — and be rehabilitated — until someone adopts them. Could you imagine a better place to land if you are a canine down on your luck? In Lisa Vanderpump’s pink paradise, where you will be groomed by hot out-of-work models, and cooed at in a cloud of English rose perfume? The fifteen beagles were rescued by the Beagle Freedom Project,…
Students take a stand for retired research animals
INDIANAPOLIS – Freezing temperatures, icy roads and a little snow couldn’t keep Eastwood Middle School students away from the Statehouse Monday morning to testify in favor of adoption of retired research animals. Senate Bill 16 would require universities and facilities across the state that use dogs or cats in experiments of any purpose to offer retired animals for adoption to the public or animal care facilities. The animals must be healthy and cannot have a significant medical diagnosis. The Eastwood sixth graders were joined by Jamie Archer of Illinois and…
Try Not To Cry While Watching Rescued Beagles Touch Grass For First Time
1010 WINS-In 2017, animal testing is still a real way for companies to test the safety and usability of products, chemicals and the like before being released to the general public. The viability of this practice has been debated for centuries by scholars and the medical establishment, but still remains a means for clearing and approving a myriad of wares. More often than not, these animals live their entire lives in small wire cages just big enough to stand, lay and turn around. Those born into this environment seldom see…
How to Combat the USDA's Animal Welfare Blackout
The government just made it nearly impossible to track the abuse of millions of animals used in laboratories each year. VegNews speaks to Beagle Freedom Project founder Shannon Keith to find out what we can do to weather the blow. On February 3, 2017, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), through the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), removed all records of animals used in laboratories—including information related to instances of abuse—from its website. This action has devastating implications for animals and greatly impedes the ability of advocates…
Beagle Freedom Project Files Lawsuit Against USDA-APHIS, in Effort to Restore the Animal Abuse Registry
LOS ANGELES, CA–(Marketwired – Feb 14, 2017) – Beagle Freedom Project (BFP), the renowned non-profit national, animal rescue and advocacy organization, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). BFP, along with five other animal advocacy groups, are challenging the USDA-APHIS to restore the Animal Abuse Registry, an online database of records related to puppy mills, laboratories, roadside zoos, traveling animal shows, and other enterprises that use and exploit helpless animals. It was earlier this month that, without warning,…
How the USDA Records Removal Impacts the Beagle Freedom Project’s Important Work
By removing public access to animal welfare records, the USDA has made it much harder for the BFP and other organizations to rescue and rehome animals in need. A digital filing cabinet stuffed with inspection reports, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s animal welfare data, was unlocked and open to the public — until last Friday. Many had no reason to peruse the now inaccessible documents, but those who viewed them frequently say dogs and other animals are at risk if they can’t. “Our organization uses this database almost on a daily…
USDA Information Blackout a Call to Action For Animal Welfare Nonprofits
Animal welfare organizations were stunned and outraged Friday when the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) removed animal welfare inspection reports, enforcement records, and other information about the treatment of animals from its website, citing privacy and other laws. The move rolls back decades of hard-fought wins from groups like Farm Sanctuary and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), who worked to increase transparency and get information into the hands of consumers who could then vote with their wallet and feet when commercial dog breeders, zoos, and research…
USDA Scrubs Public Animal Welfare Records From Website
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has removed a slew of animal welfare data — including inspection records for institutions like zoos, laboratories and commercial breeders — from its website. Previously, anyone could use a search tool on the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website to look up such information. The general public, as well as animal advocacy groups and journalists, could use the search function to see whether facilities had violated animal welfare regulations. USDA APHIS attributed the change to concerns about privacy, adding in its announcement on…
Beagle Freedom Project Offers to Settle Mizzou Litigation — for $1 and an Adoption Plan
A group of animal-loving advocates has a deal for Mizzou. Beagle Freedom Project, the California-based non-profit suing the University of Missouri over an $82,000 bill for public records related to the care of animals used in medical research, says the university could face up to $900,000 in fines, plus attorney fees and costs, over its Sunshine law missteps. But the non-profit will settled the suit with Mizzou for just $1 — provided the university agrees to work with it to safeguard the animals’ well-being. Among its demands? That Mizzou develop…