Alabama’s Blue Ridge Kennel Should Be Shut Down: PETA Statement
For Immediate Release:
August 26, 2022
Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382
Since 2020, the contract dog-testing laboratory Blue Ridge Kennel in Wetumpka, Alabama, has been cited for 32 violations of federal animal welfare laws—including for having unqualified personnel and for providing animals with inadequate veterinary care. The kennel purchased dogs from individuals who didn’t possess licenses—indicating that these dogs could have been someone’s animal companions or could even have been stolen from someone’s property. For years, the company has violated federal regulations pertaining to the functioning of its Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. The U.S. Department of Agriculture considers such violations “grave,” as they indicate that the system of oversight has fallen apart. In 2021, the kennel used 67 dogs in experiments and held an additional 56 dogs for testing.
Please see the following statement from PETA Vice President Dr. Alka Chandna regarding federal documents that reveal serious animal welfare violations at Blue Ridge Kennel:
Blue Ridge Kennel treats dogs like disposable equipment and needs to get out of the cruel animal testing business. Its employees are either unable or unwilling to comply with minimum animal welfare laws. According to a just-posted federal inspection report obtained by PETA, the facility failed to offer adequate veterinary care to multiple dogs, including a yellow male Labrador retriever who was weak, struggled to stand, and had pressure sores on his body. Because he found it difficult to move, he struggled to avoid his own urine and feces. Several dogs were underweight. One redbone coonhound had protruding ribs and hipbones as well as a protruding backbone.
About 70,000 dogs are abused in archaic and unreliable experiments in the U.S., just like those at Blue Ridge Kennel. We need state-of-the-art, human-relevant research methods that don’t use animals, such as those described in PETA scientists’ groundbreaking Research Modernization Deal.
For more information on PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
