*****THIS ALERT IS NO LONGER ACTIVE*****
DO NOT SEND THIS ALERT!
Dear Montcalm County Officials,
Please do not send companion animals to research laboratories. I implore you to
cancel the county contract with R&R Research, Inc. and
never again engage a Class B dealer to dispose of homeless animals.
Behind a lab’s closed doors, trusting animals undergo invasive surgeries, toxic
dosing, food/water deprivation, and prolonged pain. Still,
your taxpayers subsidize pound seizure whether they like it or not. They indirectly
fund animal tests that delay medical progress with misleading
results.
It is particularly irresponsible to support animal research when strides in in-vitro
technology, computer automation, and more animal-free
methods now uncover data relevant to human health and safety.
Clearly, there is no altruism in dealing cats and dogs for research. There is only
profit. In 2006, USDA records reveal R&R Research of Howard
City, Michigan grossed $196,723 from the sale of 621 dogs and cats. Moreover, R&R
flaunts an unethical history. A 2006 USDA citation
shows R&R illegally transported dogs chained to a livestock trailer. In 2005, the
company was cited for procuring dogs and cats from Howard
City, where there is no pound. Apparently officials sold their strays to R&R.
Before that, the Michigan Attorney General ordered R&R to pull its "animal shelter"
listing in the yellow pages. In the 1990s, a
WOOD TV investigative video portrayed R&R owners gassing animals in a corroded CO2
barrel.
At the very least, Montcalm officials ought to be embarrassed by their relationship
with a Class B dealer. I strongly encourage you to terminate
your contract with R&R and permanently stop pound seizure, a shady practice abandoned
by most counties nationwide.
This issue has generated worldwide publicity via the Internet. I look forward to your
feedback.
Thank you,
YOUR FULL NAME
ADDRESS, CITY, STATE
COUNTRY
