HARRISBURG – Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-33) and other legislators will unveil animal protection legislation at a Beagles and Bagels event on Tuesday, May 6, at 10 a.m. in the Capitol Media Center, Capitol Complex, Harrisburg.
Sen. Carolyn Comitta (D-19) and Reps. Ryan Bizzarro (D-3), Melissa Shusterman (D-157) and Jeanne McNeill (D-133) will join Mastriano and shelter partners. There will also be beagles that were adopted after being bred and tested by Envigo, a company that pled guilty to knowingly violating the Animal Welfare Act while using animals for research.
The legislative briefing will cover the Beagle Bills, which protect dogs, cats and other animals used in experiments.
Senate Bill 381, sponsored by Mastriano, would defund painful dog and cat testing in Pennsylvania when alternative methods exist. It would require minimum care standards for dogs bred for testing.
House Bill 294 would extend the Cruelty to Animals Statute to animals bred for research and to animals possessed by testing labs not actively involved in bona fide scientific or medical research.
House Bill 295 would prohibit the sale or import of dogs bred in kennels or by dealers from facilities that have received citations for violations of the Animal Welfare Act as pets or for medical experimentation.
House Bill 296 would require those who breed dogs and cats for sale to animal testing facilities and the testing facilities themselves to offer dogs and cats for adoption once the animals are no longer needed and adoption poses no risk to the animal or to the public.
“Animal testing needs to be conducted humanely, absent any cruel or dangerous methods. The animals should not be subjected to pain and suffering in the name of research,” Mastriano said. “Our package of bills would safeguard these creatures of God, which deserve our care.”
Miss Central Pennsylvania, Madelyn Rowan, will be a special guest at the event as she supports the legislation.
Shelter partners include:
- Adams County SPCA
- Animal Care Sanctuary
- Animal Friends
- ANNA Shelter
- Beaver County Humane Society
- Brandywine Valley SPCA
- Butler County Humane Society
- Heart of Glass Animal Rescue
- Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh
- Humane Society of Harrisburg Area
- Lehigh Valley Humane Society
- SPCA of Luzerne County
- Washington Area Humane Society
- York County SPCA
CONTACT: Don Beishl, 717-787-6701