Science Policy Announcements
For the latest news from the APS Science Policy click here.
Resource Book Now Available
Click here for more info on The APS Resource Book for the Design of Animal Exercise Protocols.
What is the Real Threat? A Pet Detective Speaks Out on “Pet Theft”
Exaggerated claims about stolen pets being sold to research jeopardize the likelihood that lost animals will be recovered, according to Kathy Albrecht. Albrecht is a professional pet detective and the founder of the Missing Pet Partnership. In her book The Lost Pet Chronicles: Adventures of a K-9 Cop Turned Pet Detective, she shares the following story:
In another case, a woman from Northern California called me in tears, saying that her husband had lost their Labrador while hiking in the mountains. Before she spoke to me, she had called an animal organization where a staff member convinced her that her dog was likely picked up by a Class B dealer and sold to research. It took me twenty minutes to calm this woman down and convince her that the chances that a Class B dealer was hiking in the same area of the woods where her dog had just become lost were about as likely as the suggestion that an alien had abducted her dog.
Albrecht, who provides practical strategies for conducting successful searches for lost pets, believes that the oft-repeated claim that millions of pets are stolen by animal dealers and then sold to research labs is a harmful misconception. She faults animal rights activists for hyping fears of pet theft in order to rally pet owners against medical research involving dogs and cats.
The individuals who adamantly claim that pets are stolen and sold for laboratory research are often animal rights organizations opposed to using animals in research. Their intent may be to scare pet owners (fearing their lost pet might end up in a research lab) into supporting their cause, which is to end all research work on animals.
In her own work, Albrecht has tracked down more pets that were missing than were stolen. The occasions of pet theft she has encountered, had nothing to do with research:
I do know of clear cases of pet theft, including dogs stolen by gangs for use in illegal dog fighting rings and purebred dogs and show cats that were stolen to either breed or to resell for a profit.
Another case of apparent theft occurred at the hands of a self-styled rescuer, who stole a cocker spaniel and gave it away because "the owners of the dog kept it as an outside dog and 'never gave it any attention.'"
Albrecht's take-home message is to treat a missing pet as lost unless there is clear evidence of theft:
From what I've observed, more lost dogs and cats were killed every year by owners who believed their pet was "stolen for research" than were ever actually killed in research facilities. That's because many of the pet owners who bought into the pet theft myth stopped searching. They failed to conduct an aggressive search... Sadly, whatever a pet owner believes has happened to their pet will influence how well they will search, how long they will search and, thus, will reduce the chances of a successful recovery.
Further Reading:
- For more of Albrecht's advice on finding lost pets, visit her FAQ page
- For more of Albrecht's observations on the "Pet Theft Myth" scroll down to the last question on her FAQ page.
- For more on the Class “B” Dealers check out Israel-Doyly Amendment Information
- For more on animal research check out Bioscience Briefing