Bea the Beagle is our Pooch of the Month for December 2018. Usually we nominate a Parliamentarian of the Month to celebrate the work decision-makers do for animals. But this month we celebrate the inspirational story of Bea the Beagle who was saved from a life of painful experiments by the Rescue + Freedom Project and adopted by a loving family. During our Lead the Way campaign to stop cruel and unnecessary UK dog tests which gathered more than 80,000 petition signatures, wonderful support from Bea and her rescue family…
Category: News

Paralyzed beagle found in Floyd County dump. She might have been lab test animal
A dog with paralyzed back legs was rescued from a dump near Martin in Floyd County, where it had apparently been left, rescuers said. Dixie Rose is a beagle with a tattoo in her ear, which led rescuers to speculate that she was formerly a lab test animal, said Candice Thies of Stanton, who works with the Rescue Freedom Project. The Rescue Freedom Project is investigating Dixie Rose’s history and how she got in the dump. “Her back legs were paralyzed, but she was trying to crawl up to the…

Dog In Need Of Forever Home After Being Left At Floyd County Dump Paralyzed, Likely Used For Lab Testing
FLOYD COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) – A dog in Floyd County is recovering after what was likely a very rough start in life. Rescuers believe she was used for lab testing before being left in a county dump partially paralyzed. The pup has been named Dixie Rose. Candice Theis with the Rescue Freedom Project says while they don’t know exactly what she’s been through, a marking tattooed in her ear means she was likely tested on in a lab. “I mean look at her, just…it tears me up to think…

Dumped by a Laboratory
WELCOME TO THE DIRTY, DARK WORLD OF ANIMAL TESTING…. Dumped in a cold, dark place where people throw out their garbage – paralyzed Dixie Rose found herself trying to maneuver around tires, couches, and old boards before she was able to crawl up into the road to be seen. Brave rescuers swooped in to save Dixie Rose and contacted us because they needed the help of an organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating laboratory testing survivors. Dixie Rose bares the horrific ear tattoo marking of research laboratories that use dogs…

BFF's enjoy Freedom together!
Mini + Maria are blind, animal testing survivors. For years, these senior, blind beagles experienced pain, isolation, cruelty and neglect. When we saw the deplorable conditions they were living in, we stepped in to secure their release. They had never known the comfort of a bed, the love of another, or feeling the sunshine on their face. read more

Lawsuit Over Mizzou's $82,222 Public Records Fees Can Go to Trial, Judge Says
When members of the Beagle Freedom Project put in Sunshine law requests for records related to the care of lab animals at the University of Missouri-Columbia, the California-based non-profit wasn’t asking for anything too onerous: The university is required to maintain the records for federal inspectors. Yet somehow Mizzou determined that producing them would require staffers to be paid as much as $125/hour — and ultimately socked members with bills totaling $82,222 just to get a look. Unlike far too many individuals and, yes, journalists confronted with such stonewalling, the…

University of Missouri to go on trial over Sunshine Law practices
The animal rights group suing the University of Missouri over an estimated $82,000 charge for researching and copying public records won a victory Friday when Circuit Judge Jeff Harris ruled the case would go to trial. Harris rejected the university’s request that he enter a judgment in its favor and end the lawsuit by Animal Rescue Media Education, which also operates under the name the Beagle Freedom Project. The organization sued the university in 2016, charging that it had set the cost so high for its records that it effectively…

Cali
Cali’s story is the ultimate story of survival. She was scared and alone on the streets of China; lost and with no one to protect her. She likely spent her time running from people and scavenging for her next meal. One day, she was caught by some people intent on making her into dinner. read more

An Advocate for Saving Laboratory Animals and Helping People Live a Cruelty-Free Life
A native of Studio City, California, Shannon Keith was raised as an only child where animals were always her best friends. “I grew up with all kinds of rescue animals – dogs and cats, and animal we’d rescue from the street, including injured birds and such. My mother was very encouraging of that. So it was a very nurturing atmosphere that cared for animals.” By the time she got to college she decided to become an animal rights attorney. “When I first heard that animals were considered chattel, meaning a…

Adorable Cats Rescued From Life in Labs Need Your Help!
Right now, more than 20,000 cats and 65,000 dogs across the U.S. are currently caged up in labs, where they are used as test subjects for our cosmetics, prescription drugs, and other products. Forced to undergo experiments that subject them to unimaginable pain and often result in lasting health consequences, these poor animals are treated like objects rather than living creatures. No different from the felines and canines we bring into our homes as pets, these innocent victims of laboratory experimentation crave love and affection, but they don’t get anything…

Massachusetts Senate passes bill to promote adoption of research animals
The Massachusetts Senate has adopted a bill that will allow families to adopt research animals once labs have concluded their testing. An Act Protecting Research Animals, also known as the “Beagle Bill,” requires product testing facilities to spare dogs and cats from automatic euthanasia and offer them for adoption through animal rescue organizations. “This common-sense legislation protects research animals and ensures that they will receive the dignified care and companionship they deserve, rather than face an early death,” Senate President Karen Spilka said in a statement. “As a lifelong animal…

USDA Faces Challenge Over Secret Records of Animal Suffering
PETA-Led Coalition Demands That Agency Release Full Annual Reports From Laboratories That Subject Animals to Unmitigated Pain For Immediate Release: July 16, 2018 Contact: Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382 Washington – This morning, a PETA-led coalition sent a request to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) demanding that the agency disclose the full annual reports submitted by laboratories—including their justifications for denying animals relief from pain and distress. After the coalition filed a lawsuit challenging the USDA’s removal of thousands of federal Animal Welfare Act–related records from its website, the agency partially…