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| | The *It's a Dog's Life* Network is not currently active and cannot accept new posts | | www.ibuystrays.com - coming soon to your neighborhood | Views: 1432 | | Dec 29, 2007 3:05 pm | | www.ibuystrays.com - coming soon to your neighborhood | # | 
Shannon Hill | | This horrible site just came online - and I'm sorry to say they have offices in my area. I'm posting a section of their page on "who sells animals" - pay close attention to the part where it says no animal in the program is ever returned - with the implication being that even animals proven stolen don't go home. This is just awful.
Shannon
"Who Can Sell Animals? YOU CAN!
We not only work with animal shelters who constantly need funding, or overextended animal rights organizations, but also we purchase directly from you, the public!
Are you an individual who regularly finds himself with too many cats and dogs on hand or maybe you're just in need of cash, Whether you've got a whole unwanted litter of mutts or just one cat that doesn't get along with the rest, Email me and do a good deed. Keep it up and you can earn bonus money for quantity.
Still, Don't believe me??? Animals are your property which you can dispose as you please. Check it out for yourself:
http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p33882_index.html
WARNING: Anyone found stealing dogs or cats or capturing them in an untoward manner will immediately be suspended from selling to our service.
(However, once purchased and within our system, our strictly enforced policy is that we absolutely can not return product under any circumstance).
Beyond the cash incentive, there are many reasons one may wish to no longer be a pet owner. Click Here to learn more! "Private Reply to Shannon Hill | | Dec 29, 2007 6:30 pm | | re: www.ibuystrays.com - coming soon to your neighborhood | # |
Rose Hope | | This is AWEFUL. This has to stop. Even if the pet has a chip they won't return it to the owner. It's unspeakable. Just when I thought I heard it all. Unbelievable!!!!!!!!!
Rose HPrivate Reply to Rose Hope | | Dec 29, 2007 9:10 pm | | re: re: www.ibuystrays.com - coming soon to your neighborhood | # |
Shannon Hill | | Snopes is claiming it is a hoax, but I'm not sure. The rescue community I work with is trying to find out. If it IS a hoax, it's a dangerous one, because it may encourage people to steal animals thinking they can sell them. And if it IS a hoax, it's an awfully elaborate one. Private Reply to Shannon Hill | | Dec 29, 2007 9:18 pm | | re: re: re: www.ibuystrays.com - coming soon to your neighborhood | # | 
Ann Rader | | I just got up the nerve to look and it's a total joke!
Thank goodness!
Private Reply to Ann Rader | | Dec 29, 2007 9:39 pm | | re: re: re: re: www.ibuystrays.com - coming soon to your neighborhood | # |
Shannon Hill | | Unfortunately, that "joke" has a mailing address in the town where I work. I've emailed several reporters to ask them to do "expose" these SOBs - if it is a hoax, it needs to be publically discredited FAST before people start stealing pets. Private Reply to Shannon Hill | | Dec 29, 2007 10:03 pm | | re: re: re: re: re: www.ibuystrays.com - coming soon to your neighborhood | # |
Ann Rader | | To me it looks like a joke ... it just seems obvious that it's not for real. It's not clever or interesting ... sort of stupid ... but very clearly a spoof.
Plus ... How many people, even those that don't give-a-_____ would knowingly sell their pet to go to a lab? Private Reply to Ann Rader | | Dec 29, 2007 11:15 pm | | re: re: re: re: re: re: www.ibuystrays.com - coming soon to your neighborhood | # |
Shannon Hill | | Thousands. The industry does exist. People who buy animals for labs are called bunchers. But the real concern is more the people who catch strays or steal pets to sell to labs. The people who do the buying and then sell to labs are supposed to be licensed as class B dealers of some kind (can't remember are the legalese) but there is a major gray market in this business. I wish there were not. Private Reply to Shannon Hill | | Jan 02, 2008 11:22 pm | | re: re: re: re: re: re: re: www.ibuystrays.com - coming soon to your neighborhood | # | 
Sharon@Dove Chocolate Discoveries Sr. Chocolatier | | I did a google search and that site is for real,see the post in American Human Society
Click here: Animal Experimantation Site! They Buy Strays! - HSUS-The Humane Society of the United States - Care2.com
http://www.care2.com/c2c/groups/disc.html?gpp=6684&pst=1008028&archival=&posts=10Private Reply to Sharon@Dove Chocolate Discoveries Sr. Chocolatier | | Jan 02, 2008 11:26 pm | | re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: www.ibuystrays.com - coming soon to your neighborhood | # |
Sharon@Dove Chocolate Discoveries Sr. Chocolatier | | Here Is What is On Pet Finders.com
http://forums.petfinder.com/viewtopic.php?t=146915&sid=046e16c03d8dee7e7a82c823663880a6Private Reply to Sharon@Dove Chocolate Discoveries Sr. Chocolatier | | Jan 03, 2008 12:38 am | | re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: www.ibuystrays.com - coming soon to your neighborhood | # |
Shannon Hill | | Apparently some of the local politicians in the Woodlands (where their PO Box is) are going to "look into it". Snopes does have it listed as a hoax, but they told us they're basing it on "bad grammar" and lack of physical address in the site. Please! If this IS legit, they wouldn't give their physical address for fear that an organization like ALF would blow them up, or that rescue groups would picket, and so on. Normally Snopes does a better job of verification. Private Reply to Shannon Hill | | Jan 03, 2008 1:14 am | | re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: www.ibuystrays.com - coming soon to your neighborhood | # |
Ann Rader | | It's a hoax.
Private Reply to Ann Rader | | Jan 03, 2008 1:32 am | | re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: www.ibuystrays.com - coming soon to your neighborhood | # |
Shannon Hill | | The Humane Society on Class B dealers...
Class B Dog and Cat Dealers Are No Friends to the Animals
February 15, 2006
Last Chance for Animals
By Stephanie Edwards
In the shadowy world of Class B dog and cat dealers, an animal’s life can be harsh and unrelenting. Animals may suffer from crowded and unsanitary conditions, poor food, and insufficient water. Veterinary care may be nonexistent. They may not even survive their time in a Class B dealer’s hands.
So who are Class B dog and cat dealers? They're brokers who acquire animals from a variety of sources—including "pounds," flea markets, and newspaper ads—and then sell them to research institutions or veterinary schools. Class B dealers are regulated under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), which mandates minimum care and handling standards for animals in a variety of environments. But these dealers, putting profits before pooches, are regularly cited for violating the AWA and have long been a cause for concern for many.
Take Action!
» News update: In April, 2006 H.R. 5229, the Pet Safety and Protection Act was introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives.
» Action: Tell your legislators to put a leash on Class B dealers: Ask them to support The Pet Safety and Protection Act.
» Learn more about Class B dealers and the long battle to shut them down.
Now, Dealing Dogs, a shocking HBO documentary that premieres February 21, exposes the inhumanity that can take place on Class B dealer properties. The documentary looks at Martin Creek Kennels—an Arkansas operation owned by former Class B dealer C.C. Baird—through the eyes of an undercover investigator who was employed as a kennel worker. The “kennel worker” was actually a member of the animal protection group, Last Chance for Animals (LCA), and in his investigation of Martin Creek, he videotaped a number of atrocities including the beating, shooting, and malnourishment of dogs.
The Martin Creek Kennels case proves to be the rule, rather than the exception, for Class B dealers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the agency that licenses and regulates Class B dealers, as well as animal protection organizations like LCA, Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), and The HSUS, have documented and investigated similar conditions at Class B facilities for many years. Collectively, the weight of these investigations have left many wondering why this class of dealer still exists.
“Time and again, we hear about inhumane treatment of animals at Class B dealer facilities," said Stephanie Shain, director of outreach for Companion Animals at The HSUS. "While Dealing Dogs focuses on C.C. Baird, admittedly the most notorious of the Class B dealers, we shouldn’t assume that his operation is an isolated case. Class B dealers continue to be a cause for great concern among animal welfare organizations.”
Class B Dealers: No Class Act
Licensed by the USDA, Class B dealers can buy animals, including dogs, from “random sources” (meaning animals not bred or raised on the dealers’ property) and sell them to animal research facilities for biomedical research, testing, and educational purposes. Research facilities don't exclusively rely on Class B dealers to acquire their animals. They can also purchase “purpose-bred” dogs from breeders (Class A dealers) or, in states that allow it, from animal shelters (a practice known as “pound seizure”). In fact, with only 15 Class B dog and cat dealers selling to research institutions in the United States today, many question why they exist at all. (A list of these and other dealers can be viewed at the USDA web site).
A Class B dealer’s “random sources” are indeed that. Dealers regularly buy dogs from auctions, flea markets, or "pounds." They also buy them from “bunchers,” another group of people who collect animals from random sources. Because they are not regulated by any agency at all, bunchers create an additional problem with enforcement. Class B dealers and bunchers have been known to snag lost, stray, or “free to a good home” pets. There have been cases of pets being stolen from their owners’ backyards.
One former commercial dog trader from the Midwest, interviewed by the AWI, admitted that many of the dogs in the research pipeline were clearly people’s pets. “Mostly hounds, gentle animals, house dogs, or pets. Y’know, something that wouldn’t bite you…They had collars with their name on them.” The trader went on to explain that his dogs would come from several states and that the people selling the dogs to the trader would write down fake names and addresses for the dogs.
To prevent Class B dealers from acquiring dogs through theft or from unknown sources, the USDA requires the dealers to obtain proof of ownership from anyone who sells or surrenders their animals to them. The dealer is required to keep on file the license plate number and driver’s license number of any person who sells to the dealer. However, some bunchers and dealers have been found to falsify information and/or fail to record this information, as in the case of C.C. Baird.
“Whether you have one dog or 100 dogs obtained illegally, it’s still too many,” says The HSUS’s Shain. “Current regulations make it all too easy for Class B dealers to falsify records if they want to. It’s not an easy paper trail to follow.”
The potential for fraud, not to mention animal abuse, are two reasons why legislators and animal protection organizations have been working to pass The Pet Safety and Protection Act (S. 451/H.R. 5229) introduced in the Senate in February 2005 by Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and the House by Representatives Mike Doyle (D-PA) and Phil English (R-PA). The bill, currently pending in the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, seeks to ensure that every dog or cat used by research facilities was obtained legally. It also requires research facilities and veterinary schools to look to sources other than Class B dealers for their dogs and cats. Similar legislation has been introduced many times over the past 10 years, and has been stymied each time.
As the HBO documentary shows, a dealer may be licensed to trade animals, but that doesn’t make him a friend of the animals. The undercover investigation of C.C. Baird’s facility revealed shocking examples of animal neglect and abuse, including starvation, lack of basic veterinary care, and dogs left to die in overcrowded cages. Other cases have revealed similar mistreatment, including one dating back to 1966, when an undercover investigation of Class B dealer Lester Brown caught America’s attention and helped prompt the passage of the Animal Welfare Act after years of fruitless attempts.
Forty years later, despite some improvements, the current regulations for Class B dealers are clearly not enough.
What’s more, the USDA, which shares a concern about the treatment of animals at Class B kennels, just does not have the staff or funding to keep tabs on these dealers. The federal agency is charged with enforcing the Animal Welfare Act, which includes the regulation of Class B dealers, but it has been monstrously difficult for the USDA to track all the activities involved in obtaining and caring for the animals. According to AWI, dealers will often find out when an USDA inspector plans to visit and will “clean up” or hide any violations before the inspector arrives.
That’s where the Pet Safety and Protection Act would make a difference.
As far back as a decade ago, the USDA admitted that it would prefer to see Class B dealers phased out. During a 1996 Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing conference, W. Ron de Haven, D.V.M., then the USDA’s regional director for Animal Care and Use, discussed a possible proposal to phase out Class B dealers within two years. Ten years later, Class B dealers are still conducing business, and hours of USDA time and considerable funding are expended each year even as Animal Welfare Act violators continue to slip out of trouble.
The USDA did permanently revoke C.C. Baird’s Class B license and fine him $262,700 for mistreating animals and failing to keep accurate records. It was the largest civil penalty ever assessed, and paid, in an Animal Welfare Act case. Baird is not permitted to reapply for a Class B license. The dogs and other animals living in Baird’s kennels were relinquished to the USDA, so that the government agency could find suitable homes for them.
What You Can Do
While Baird may never trade in dogs again, other pets could fall victim to similarly horrific conditions as long as the B class of dealers continues to exist. But you can help change that. Contact your legislators, and tell them that Class B dealers are not an acceptable source of dogs and cats for research. Then ask them to support The Pet Safety and Protection Act (S. 451/H.R. 5229).
Also, be sure to protect your pets by keeping cats indoors and supervising your dogs while they are outside. Make sure your pet is always wearing proper identification and have them microchipped by your veterinarian or local shelter.
Stephanie Edwards is the outreach coordinator for Animal Research Issues for The HSUS.
Private Reply to Shannon Hill | | Jan 03, 2008 1:39 am | | re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: www.ibuystrays.com - coming soon to your neighborhoo | # |
Shannon Hill | | And from the ASPCA...
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=kids_ri_animaltesting_comefrom
Animal Testing: Where Do the Animals Come From?
Most scientists buy the animals they use from animal dealers. Some breed and raise their own animals. The scientists who buy animals to use in research get their animals from two types of dealers: class A and class B licensed dealers. Class A dealers can only sell animals that they have bred.
Class B licensed dealers can also sell animals that they got without breeding them. Most of the time, class B dealers get their animals from respectable places, but class B dealers can collect stray animals from the streets. In 31 states, class B dealers can also take animals from animal shelters and sell them to laboratories for research. In five states (Iowa, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah) shelters are required to surrender animals to any class B dealers who ask for them. Currently, 14 states have passed laws making it illegal for animals in shelters to be sold for research. These states are Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, and West Virginia. It is illegal in all 50 states for stolen animals to be sold or used in research.
LEARN MORE
- How Many Animals Are Used in Research?
- How Are Animals Treated in Laboratories?
- Why Animals Are Used in Research?
- Where Do the Animals Come From?
- Where Do They Go After the Research Is Done?
- Things Are Changing
- People Are Helping to Change the Laws
- Things Are Changing Because of New Technology
- "What's Next?"—Make Your Government Listen—Money Talks
- Resources
- Glossary
Private Reply to Shannon Hill | | Jan 05, 2008 5:20 pm | | re: www.ibuystrays.com - coming soon to your neighbo | # | 
Wicked Witch of the West | | Even if it is a hoax, it's still sick. Someone went to a lot of trouble to be a sicko and people like that need to be watched. A good majority of domestic abusers and serial killers start out beating on the family pet or killing animals in inhumane ways. Not to mention, how many profiteers are now running out and breeding litters to try and sell for profit. The world certainly has it's fair share of stupid, sick people.
~Marla
Private Reply to Wicked Witch of the West | | Jan 05, 2008 6:14 pm | | re: re: www.ibuystrays.com - coming soon to your neighbo | # |
Ann Rader | | Marla,
I completely agree with you of course. Clearly, these individuals hold people who love and value animals in contempt. But it does look obvious to me that this web site is not for real as far as being an authentic place that buys pets and sells them to laboratories.
~~Ann Private Reply to Ann Rader | | Jan 06, 2008 12:29 am | | re: re: re: www.ibuystrays.com - coming soon to your neighbo | # |
Shannon Hill | | My point is that whether it's a hoax or not, it will cause trouble and needs to be investigated. For example, someone in Houston just reported on the rescue boards that there is one street on which SIXTEEN dogs have been stolen out of fenced yards in the last week or so...in other words, since this site (hosted in the Houston area)came online.
That is precisely what the rescue community was afraid would happen. It encourages the kind of scum that would sell animals to a lab to go out and get animals to sell - one way or another. And suppose they stole them to sell to this dealer? And discover it's a hoax? What happens to the dogs then? Worse, what if it's for real? As acknowledged by HSUS and ASPCA and the rescue community at large, these dealers DO exist, and they DO get their animals from unscrupulous sources.Private Reply to Shannon Hill | | Jan 09, 2008 2:08 pm | | re: re: re: re: www.ibuystrays.com - coming soon to your neighbo | # |
Sharon@Dove Chocolate Discoveries Sr. Chocolatier | | What gets me is ever one takes Snopes for gospel, A bunch people sent them the address for there web site and domain name, etc and snopes still did not acknowledge them as real.
Snopes is not a Company its own by a man and woman who thinks things are real or not and just keeps up with chain letters and such....Private Reply to Sharon@Dove Chocolate Discoveries Sr. Chocolatier | | |
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