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Pound Seizure Background

What It Is

Pound seizure is the practice of providing cats and dogs to USDA Class B Dealers (animal brokers) and research facilities for purposes of research and/or experimentation.

Companion animals depend on humans for their safety and well-being. Tragically, this dependency is betrayed when shelters allow these pets to be taken by Class B Dealers for resale to research facilities. When Class B dealers and research facilities can obtain cats and dogs from animal shelters, it diminishes the shelters’ credibility and purpose, and betrays public trust. Shelters or animal control agencies that surrender animals to research facilities promote the fear that any animals taken in will end up in a laboratory or research facility. This discourages pet owners and those who find stray animals from bringing animals into those shelters and agencies.

American Humane opposes the surrender of animals by animal shelters and animal control agencies to labs, pharmaceutical and educational institutions, or any scientific or research facility. All animals that are in the possession of a shelter or animal control agency should be returned to their rightful owners, placed in suitable homes or humanely euthanized. In a situation in which there is a law mandating the release of animals from shelters for purposes of biomedical research, the local animal care or control agency and the humane community should work to repeal such a law.

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%