Why Animal Research?

Dogs in Biomedical Research

Dogs play a very important role in biomedical research and the development of new drugs. This is because dogs and humans share many anatomical and physiological similarities. The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) has provided a canine research factsheet detailing the many ways in which research with dogs has contributed to the development of treatments for diseases and injuries that affect both people and animals. The a16z Podcast: Connecting Hearts, Bodies and Networks to Cure Cancer reviews the connection between human and canine cancer, and how research with dogs can help to solve questions related to the development of cancer treatments for both humans and pet dogs. The video Drug Testing: Research with Dogs provided by Understanding Animal Research describes the use of dogs in a research facility, and the video Dogs in Medical Research demonstrates how dogs are often housed in research facilities.

PURPOSE BRED

Dogs in biomedical research help improve the lives and health of people. They also help improve the lives of other animals, including our beloved pets. Like other working dogs, research dogs are trained and acclimated for their life as a working dog. This means that these dogs are acclimated to life in a research facility, and remain happy, calm and content in this environment.

Dogs bred and raised at Marshall BioResources are considered "purpose-bred" for biomedical research. Providing "purpose-bred" dogs is beneficial because this ensures that medical research involves dogs that were bred and trained for life in a research facility. Therefore, they are comfortable and happy, which ensures that the dogs do not experience undue stress, and that the research they help create is accurate and reliable.

REGULATIONS TO ENSURE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS

In the United States, breeding facilities like ours are regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and facilities must obtain a license from the USDA to breed animals for biomedical research. Operations at a breeding facility must meet the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act and the associated regulations, and all facilities are inspected at least once a year by the USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

Details regarding the regulations we follow, and how we are inspected are available here: Questions and Answers: Regulation of Dog/Cat Breeders and Dealer.

Animal breeding and research activities in the United Kingdom are similarly regulated by the Home Office. Similar regulations exist in other countries as well, and in the European Union as a whole these regulations conform to Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2010 on the Protection of Animals Used for Scientific Purposes (Directive 2010/63/EU).

In addition to following all local and regional laws and regulations with regards to our breeding and housing of dogs, as well as any other species we provide; we also follow the same standards for the breeding, housing and care of our animals in all of our facilities across the world. We utilize the same standard operating procedures to ensure we provide the same quality of care at all of our locations. Our Quality Management Systems for all of our Marshall Beagle® breeding operations worldwide are certified to the ISO 9001:2015 standards.

ADDITIONAL COMMITMENTS BY MARSHALL BIORESOURCES

Our US facilities are also accredited by AAALAC International, and we run our operations according to the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. We ensure that we are meeting the highest possible standards of quality animal care and welfare at all of sites.

The European Animal Research Association also provides more information about Why Dogs are Used in Research.