WHAT ARE CLASS B ANIMAL DEALERS?

Class B dealers can be licensed by the USDA to purchase and sell "random-source" dogs and cats to research laboratories for scientific research. The random sources that Class B dealers obtain dogs and cats from include other Class B dealers, animal shelters, breeders, flea markets and dog auctions, infamous "bunchers", free to good home ads, and pet theft. 

Investigations by LCA have uncovered Class B dealers routinely violating the law by acquiring random-source animals from fraudulent sources, as well as by abusing and neglecting animals once they are in their care. Animals obtained by Class B dealers are often stolen pets, strays, or animals obtained under false pretenses through "free to good home" ads. Because of this, it is virtually impossible to know the true history of an animal acquired by a Class B dealer. Each time a Class B dealer sells an animal to a research laboratory, a strong possibility exists that he or she is a lost or stolen family pet.

It has been provent that Class B dealers steal family pets and sell them to research laboratories. The monetary incentives associated with selling lost and stolen family pets motivate Class B dealers to violate countless laws. Records are often falsified, such as evidence of ownership, and dog tags are purposefully destroyed; no attempt is made to reunite animals with microchips to their families. Instead, these companion animals are kept in squalid conditions on the Class B dealers' property before being sold to laboratories for scientific research.

WHAT ARE BUNCHERS?

"Bunchers" are people who obtain and sell random-sourced cats and dogs to Class B dealers. The Class B dealer will then resell the cats and dogs they buy from Bunchers to laboratories for scientific research. Bunchers are not regulated by the USDA. Numerous investigations by LCA have exposed Bunchers obtaining animals through unscrupulous and dishonest methods, including:

Free to Good Home Ads - Bunchers will often answer "Free to Good Home" ads, posing as a caring home but will turn and resell the animal to a Class B dealer, who in turn resells the animal to a laboratory for scientific research. This elaborate system was documented by LCA in the investigation of Class B dealer Barbara Ruggiero, who worked extensively with a network of Bunchers.

Pet Theft - Bunchers are also known to steal family pets and resell them to Class B dealers, who in turn resell the animals to laboratories for scientific research. LCA documented this extensively in the investigation of Class B dealer C.C. Baird.

A TROUBLING HISTORY: STOLEN PETS BEING SOLD TO ANIMAL RESEARCH DATES BACK AT LEAST 50 YEARS

The troubling history of Class B dealers selling stolen dogs and cats to laboratories for scientific research was documented in 1966, when Life magazine ran an article entitled, "Concentration Camps for Lost and Stolen Pets: Your Dog Is In Cruel Danger." The article profiled Class B dealers who sold lost and stolen, random-sourced animals to laboratories for scientific research. The animals were housed in filthy, squalid conditions where they sometimes succumbed to neglect or weather extremes. The animals who survived this horror were sold to laboratories to be experimented on. Unfortunately, when LCA started investigating Class B dealers over 20 years later in 1988, almost the same conditions were exposed.

READ THE 1966 LIFE MAGAZINE ARTICLE ABOUT CLASS B DEALERS

LCA INVESTIGATIONS INTO CLASS B DEALERS AND "DEALING DOGS"

LCA has been investigating Class B dealers since 1988. Investigations have uncovered Class B dealers and Bunchers obtaining animals through pet theft and free to good home ads, and rampant cruelty and neglect at Class B dealers' facilities. Investigators have risked their lives to document the abuse animals endure at the hands of Class B dealers, which includes starvation, beatings, lack of shelter, and even the slaughter of dogs to be sold as meat.

LCA's work has helped expose and shut down numerous dog dealers, including Barbara Ruggiero, Frederick Spero, and Ralph Jacobsen, leading LCA to become the first animal rights group to procure state and federal prison sentences for Class B dealers in 1991. LCA's groundbreaking investigation into notorious B dealer C.C. Baird was the subject of HBO's Genesis award-winning documentary "Dealing Dogs". This documentary brought the truth about B dealers' abhorrent cruelty to prime time and spurred a national movement against the B dealer industry.

LEARN MORE ABOUT LCA'S INVESTIGATIONS INTO CLASS B DEALERS.

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH REGARDING CLASS B DEALERS

In 2009, a research paper by the National Institute of Health (NIH) concluded that random-sourced dogs and cats supplied by Class B dealers were not necessary for scientific research. In 2012, the NIH defunded research on cats obtained from Class B dealers, and in 2014, the NIH adopted a similar ban on dogs. However, this does not stop Class B dealers from selling random-sourced cats and dogs to laboratories that are not NIH funded.

From  2012 - 2021, non-permanent language had been included annually in the Agriculture Appropriations bill defunding the renewal of Class B dealers who sell random-sourced animals for scientific research, thus halting their operations. The language in the yearly Appropriations bill states that any Class B dealers who supply random-sourced animals to research facilities cannot renew their Class B license after expiration.

Although both dealt a major blow to Class B dealer operations, the problem of Class B dealers selling random-sourced cats and dogs to other research facilities that are not NIH-funded were still be a problem.

VICTORY - 2023 OMNIBUS ACT INCLUDES PERMANENT LANGUAGE THAT COMPLETELY ELIMINATES CLASS B DEALERS FROM SELLING ANIMALS TO RESEARCH FACILITIES

LCA has achieved a huge win for the animals with the President signing the Appropriations Act of 2023 (commonly called the "Omnibus Act") which contained an LCA-championed provision to permanently eliminate Class B dealers in the U.S. READ THE PRESS RELEASE HERE.

LCA has aggressively pushed the passage of the Pet Safety and Protection Act (PSPA), however, LCA was successful in getting key language from the PSPA included in the final Omnibus bill. The bill finally contains permanent language blocking the licensing and relicensing of Class B dealers. Since 2016, language has been included annually in the Omnibus Act that essentially stopped the renewal or issuance of Class B dealer licenses, thus halting their operations. However, this language was not permanent and had to be included every year to prevent Class B dealers from operating.

The words "and thereafter" included in Sec. 733 of the 2023 Omnibus bill made the defunding of Class B dealer licenses permanent. No longer does LCA have to make sure, each year, the language gets included in the Omnibus bill.

Sec. 733 of the bill states, "In this fiscal year and thereafter, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds made available by this Act may be used to carry out any activities or incur any expense related to the issuance of licenses under section 3 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2133), or the renewal of such licenses, to class B dealers who sell Random Source dogs and cats for use in research, experiments, teaching, or testing."

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE 2023 VICTORY WITH THE OMNIBUS ACT.