Animal Protection

In March 2009, American Humane collaborated with Rep. John Espinoza  (D-Croswell) to file HB 4663, also known as Koda’s Bill, to stop the practice of pound seizure in Michigan.  The bill was co-sponsored by Reps. Terry Brown, Mike Huckleberry and Jeff Mayes.  The bill was named after Koda, a 3-year-old malamute who was surrendered to the Gratiot County Animal Control shelter. Koda was then taken by a Class B dealer and resold to the University of Michigan, where he received traumatic injuries as a subject for the university’s Advanced Trauma Life Support Class and then was euthanized. Koda’s former family believed that taking him to a shelter would allow him another opportunity to find a home and did not know he would be used in a research experiment. What happened to Koda is happening every day in the last remaining shelters that practice pound seizure.

Michigan has struggled with the taint of pound seizure for decades and is home to three of the country’s 10 live-animal random-source USDA  Class B dealers. With only two Michigan shelters left that practice pound seizure (Gratiot and Mecosta County Animal Control shelters), the time to end this practice is now.

Michigan citizens continue to speak loudly that pound seizure is not wanted in the state.  Please add your voice to Koda’s Bill by sending an email to your legislator regarding HB 4663.  And join the growing list of supporters by filling out this form.

For more information about pound seizure in Michigan, and to find out what else you can do to help, please contact our Public Policy Office at publicpolicy@americanhumane.org

American Humane is pleased that after more than 30 years, the Montcalm County Animal Shelter will no longer allow pound seizure -- the practice of providing shelter cats and dogs to USDA Class B Dealers for resale to research facilities. The decision follows a vote by the Montcalm County commissioners on April 27, 2009, to stop the practice.

American Humane especially applauds the efforts of the county’s Blue Ribbon Committee, which was formed to address issues at the shelter, as well as Montcalm County Citizens for Animal Welfare and Concerned Citizens Coalition-Montcalm. 

American Humane’s Director of Public Policy Allie Phillips, J.D., is from Michigan and has worked toward stopping pound seizure in the state for the past 10 years. Phillips and American Humane’s Office of Public Policy assisted local advocacy groups in their efforts to end this practice, and were overjoyed at the dedication and perseverance of numerous concerned citizens.

“Michigan has struggled with pound seizure for decades, and thanks to successful campaigns at the county level, we now have just two shelters in the state that continue to practice pound seizure,” said Phillips.

Pound Seizure Survey Results

American Humane’s Office of Public Policy conducted an online survey on pound seizure in April 2009. More than 3,000 animal welfare professionals and American Humane advocates responded.

The majority of respondents stated that a shelter’s practice of pound seizure would adversely affect respondents’ decision to bring in their animals.

Survey results follow:

Would you bring a lost animal you had found to a shelter that released unclaimed animals to research?

NO 97.1%
YES 1.7%
NO RESPONSE 1.2%

If there was a stray dog in your neighborhood, would you be less likely to report it to animal control if you knew it might end up in a research laboratory?

YES 91.1%
NO 7.3%
NO RESPONSE 1.6%

If you could not keep your own pet and brought it to a shelter that released animals to research, would you sign a form giving permission for your pet to be used for experimentation?

NO 98.4%
YES 1.4%
NO RESPONSE 0.3%

Would you donate money to an animal shelter that voluntarily sold or gave pets to laboratories?

NO 97.6%
YES 1.7%
NO RESPONSE 0.7%

If you could not keep your own pet and brought it to a shelter that released animals to research, would you feel betrayed if the shelter gave your animal to research without your prior knowledge?

YES 96.0%
NO 2.1%
NO RESPONSE 1.9%

If you knew of an animal that was being abused or neglected, would you be less likely to report it to animal control if you knew it might end up in a research laboratory?

YES 79.6%
NO 16.9%
NO RESPONSE 3.5%

Note: For the following “shelter staff only” questions, the percentages listed are based on the total number of responses to each question.

(For shelter staff only) Does your shelter provide animals to research?

NO 99.1%
YES 0.9%

(For shelter staff only) If you answered no to question 7, do you feel the public is more comfortable or more likely to bring animals to your shelter than to a shelter that does provide animals to research?

YES 93.7%
NO 6.3%

(For shelter staff only) Do you believe that citizens in your community approve of providing shelter animals to research?

NO 95.8%
YES 4.2%

(For shelter staff only) If there is another shelter in your area that provides animals to research, does the presence of that shelter affect your ability to gain the confidence of the community?

YES 51.5%
NO 48.5%