Beagles Dog Quarantine and Testing

Beagles are used as detection dogs Beagle Brigade of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These dogs are used to detect food bags to be carried in the United States. After trying several breeds, Beagles were chosen because they are relatively small and not intimidating to people who are uncomfortable with dogs, easy to maintain, smart and works well for rewards. They are also used for this purpose in a number of other countries, including the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, New Zealand, Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, and Canada, Japan and the Republic of China. Larger breeds are generally used for the detection of explosives as this often involves over luggage conveyors, and large, work for which the smaller Beagle is not adequate.

Beagles are the dog breed most often used in animal experiments because of its size and passive nature. 8.018 of the dogs used in the tests in Britain in 2004, 7,799 were Beagles (97.3%). In the UK animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 gave special status to primates, horses, dogs and cats in 2005, the Animal Procedures (established by law) ruled that testing on mice was preferable, even more from individual animals were involved. In 2005 Beagles were involved in less than 0.3% of total animal testing in the UK, but experiments in 7670 involved 7406 beagle dogs (96.6%). Most dogs are bred specifically for this purpose, companies such as Harlan. In the UK companies breeding animals for research must be released under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act

Testing cosmetics on animals is prohibited in the Member States of the European Community, although France protested the ban and have made efforts to get up. Allowed in the U.S., but not necessary if security can be proved by other methods, and test species is not specified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). When testing the toxicity of food additives, food contaminants, and certain drugs and chemicals the FDA uses Beagles and miniature pigs as substitutes for direct human experimentation.

Anti-vivisection groups reported animal abuse in the examination centers. In 1997 footage secretly filmed by a freelance journalist inside Huntingdon Life Sciences in the UK showed staff punching and screaming beagles. Consort Kennels, a breeder of Beagles UK for testing, was closed in 1997 after pressure from animal rights groups.