As of October 2014, the NIH requires that researchers use federal dollars to purchase animals from dealers that breed and raise the dogs themselves.
The Beagle Freedom Project claims at least 15 dogs may have been purchased by OSU from a dealer that acquires dogs through “free to good home” ads, shelters or backyard breeders — all violations of NIH regulations. Those dogs have since died, after OSU researchers used them in heart failure experiments.
The university told this newspaper that the school’s dog experiments are in compliance with NIH regulations.
In addition, the university says the dogs were purchased prior to the new federal regulations.
“We received them from what are called Class B dealers. They do indeed get them from what are known as random sources, including private owners and dog pounds,” OSU research spokesman Jeff Grabmeier wrote in an email to this newspaper. “Class B dealers are supposed to get all their dogs legally.
“The Beagle Freedom Project has absolutely no evidence that the dogs Ohio State acquired are lost or stolen.”
OSU received more than $3 million in federal grants for the project.
“It is appalling enough that dogs are being tormented and killed in OSU’s laboratory, but it is especially inexcusable that OSU has been performing crude experiments on dogs who were once people’s beloved family members,” Kevin Chase, vice president of Beagle Freedom Project, wrote in an email.
There can be cost-benefits that come with buying a dog from a Class B animal dealer. According to the Beagle Freedom Project, an approved dealer typically will charge around $1,000 while a Class B dealer often charges less than $100.
“I think animal rights groups have an agenda of their own, while our agenda is to provide benefits for millions of Americans suffering from heart disease,” said Jan Weisenberger, associate vice president of research at OSU.
To learn more about the heart, researchers implanted “electrical devices” into the dogs to induce “irregular heartbeat” and “heart failure.”
“This research project is designed to find improved therapies to treat problems with the sinus node of the heart,” Grabmeier said. “In an effort to save and improve human lives, the goal is to find a drug therapy that is more affordable and safer to use than electronic pacemakers.”
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