In a community so passionately committed to animals and animal welfare, it's extremely alarming to know that animal testing is happening in our own backyard. Charles River, formerly MPI, in Mattawan, MI is the testing and research facility at the root of the recent undercover investigation of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).
What is most disturbing about this investigation is that these animals are being subjected to a test that has been publicly deemed unnecessary, a statement that has been agreed upon by Dow scientists, which are part of the same company, Dow AgroSciences (a.k.a. Corteva) that have commissioned this specific test.
Currently, we are aware of 36 dogs undergoing unnecessary testing at the Mattawan Charles River facility, and the HSUS is encouraging citizens to sign this petition, which demands the release of all 36 dogs.
Dow did publicly respond to the HSUS investigation, and at this time there is no plan for them to stop this testing and release the animals.
The HSUS is still working toward the release of these animals. Below are some links to help you learn more about the undercover investigation, as well as a link to the petition.
HSUS Press release: https://www.humanesociety.org/news/humane-society-united-states-undercover-investigation-shows-plight-dogs-laboratory-being-dosed
HSUS Video: https://youtu.be/AuKaHh3ZKIk
HSUS Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HSUSMichigan/
Mlive News Coverage: https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw-bay-city/2019/03/dow-chemical-says-it-had-to-test-pesticide-on-dogs-despite-humane-society-criticism.html
March 11, 2015 - Claire Terry, Global Toxicologist from Dow Agrosciences, discusses the implications of a recent publication highlighting the redundancy of the one-year dog study in assessing human health risks for the registration of pesticides: https://www.facebook.com/NC3Rs/posts/claire-terry-global-toxicologist-from-dow-agrosciences-discusses-the-implication/976363805721469/
The Kalamazoo Humane Society (KHS) is not affiliated with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), however we do support the work of HSUS in many aspects of animal welfare, including the issue of animal testing.
KHS advocates to end the use of animals in research and testing that is harmful to the animals. Accordingly, we strive to decrease and eventually eliminate harm to animals used for those purposes. Our concern encompasses all aspects of laboratory animal use, including their housing and care.