I disagree with these guys completely. These guys are teaming with PETA and the Humane Society of the USA.
It used to be that dogs that were used in labs were dogs that were going to be destroyed by the dog pound. However, the Humane society put an end to that. It is much better to destroy the dogs at the pound for no reason, than to use them to improve our lives in research. The cost of the dogs went from $50 when I started grad school to over $1000 by the time I left (and the cost has gotten to be MUCH higher since then). By the end of grad school, the only dogs that could be used for research were ones that were raised specifically for research. The dogs we originally used were pretty gnarly, and it was obvious why they were going to be destroyed. When we had to get them from breeders, we were getting BEAUTIFUL hounds from a breeder that was raising them for hunting. If they were gun shy or not good hunters, he started selling them to labs. By the time I was graduating, the good ole boy that was the breeder told me he was really having an ethical dilemma. If a dog could hunt, he would get about $250 for the dog, but if it was rejected, he was getting close to a $1000... All driven by the humane society.
There are so many rules about using dogs for research, that they feel little or no pain during any procedure. And only experiments that can actually help humans significantly, and can only be done with dogs, are allowed to be done. The dogs have a much better outlook for life than one of the "breeders" at the typical puppy mill for sure!
I wonder if the VA is outside the box of rules for what can be done to the animals they use? They are not under any state gov’t that has its own laws, eh? People are fined for abandoning their dogs or when it gets loose but the military hasn’t had a good record with their dogs and they can get around that with contractors.