Beagles Force-Fed Fungicides In Lab Are Set To Be Released For Adoption

Laboratory beagles previously force-fed fungicides and set to be euthanized are now slated to be released to an animal welfare organization after public outcry.

Thirty-two beagles will be going to the Michigan Humane Society, which operates adoption centers in the Detroit metropolitan area, within two weeks, spokesman Andy Bissonette told HuffPost. He added that earlier reports saying there were 36 beagles at the lab were inaccurate.

This month the Humane Society of the United States released photos and videos from Charles River Laboratories  in Michigan, which was conducting a yearlong experiment on behalf of Corteva Agriscience, an agriculture division of DowDuPont.

The tests involved force-feeding the beagles toxic substances with the goal of determining how much damage they did to the dogs’ bodies.

The surviving dogs were slated to be killed in July so that their bodies could be examined. Corteva admitted there were “better ways” to get the data, but said it was conducting the tests because Brazilian authorities required them.

After public backlash, the company agreed to end the tests and “make every effort” to find homes for the dogs, though the HSUS expressed concern over where the dogs would end up. On Thursday the HSUS announced that Corteva agreed to send the dogs to the Michigan Humane Society.

A timeline has not yet been set for when the dogs will be available for adoption.

“We will evaluate the health of the dogs and determine proper care and course of action for each beagle then,” Bissonette said.

Though these beagles are now safe, the HSUS noted on Twitter that about 60,000 dogs are still being used for testing in laboratories in the United States.