Beagles are used in lab testing for a range of reasons but the main reasons to why they use this magnificent breed is because of their gentle temperament. Beagles naturally have lots of loyalty, forgiveness, trusting and their ability to rarely show aggression even when stressed or in pain. The second reason is because of their size, they have a medium to small build making them easy to fit, hold, handle and fit in confined and limited spaces. On top of that they tolerate close group housing as they are have a great temperament and do well in packs. The final reason is is their uniformity, these dogs have purpose-bred strains that provide biological and genetic consistency for scientific data. Now you know why these dogs are used for lab testing but what are they actually doing to these dogs?  

Australia uses Beagles primarily for pharmaceutical drug testing, chemical or toxicity evaluations, medical science and pet food research. The types of testing they do is fitted with specialised muzzles to test how their bodies process, absorb or how they react to inhaled chemical vapours, agriculture sprays or pharmaceutical mists, so your average asthma inhalers, nasal sprays, saline mist are all being uses on these pups and you may think their using exposure time for maybe a few minutes at a time and I wish but that's sadly not the case. The dogs are restrained with their legs, arms and body being held down. They're fitted with airtight full masks and are set ranging from 20 minutes to hours per session forcing them to inhale specific chemicals, vapours, gases or dust. Most of the time the trials are often repeated daily or over long extend periods that could go for weeks or months depending on the type of research they're studying. While the masks are always removed after each session and that's if the animal survive the repeated toxic trials, they are almost always get euthanised after testing and get a post-mortem organ and tissue examination to see the damage. Only a few get a chance at life, to see grass for the first time, to feel what it's like to have a loving home and to feel what it's like to be free. The physical pain they get put through makes in me sick, the forced inhalation of toxins being breathed through the masks cause respiratory distress, nausea, and tissue damage and if thats not bad enough the animals in medical or pharmaceutical trials frequently undergo invasive surgeries to implant devices or take deep tissue biopsies as well as they also do repeated samples of bodily fluids to see how the drugs are moving through the dog. Don't get me started on the on how bad they treat these animals because it just gets worse. Safety trials involve dosing the dogs with chemicals until they show visible symptoms of poisoning, such as tremors, lethargy, or organ failure. Standard laboratory housing involves barren steel or plastic pens, depriving social animals like Beagles, they need natural pack behaviours and outdoor exercise. The species differences has a big scientific and biological flaw in the testing their doing, dogs and humans have vastly different immune systems, metabolic pathways, and organ sensitivities, meaning a drug that is safe for a dog can still be toxic to a human.  Also many toxicology protocols rely on decades-old biological frameworks so the testing is lagging behind on modern human-specific technology. The breeders have specifically exploit the Beagle's submissive, gentle, and forgiving nature while also making commercial laboratories to often hide the facility's, making it incredibly difficult for the public or animal welfare groups to see what happen behind close doors. These lab also use a loop hole in the animal testing as the government has banned cosmetics testing but they bypass this by claiming an ingredient is for a household cleaner, allowing them to legally perform animal tests anyway therefor letting them use cosmetics testing. These dogs are a big targets for laboratory testing in Australia as numerous beagles are subjected to very painful and distressing experiments every year. This practice is not only cruel and disgusting but also very unnecessary as there are many alternative methods for testing that are available that do not involve harming animals. Even know cosmetic testing on animals is banned in Australia the pharmaceutical, chemical and pet food companies still use or source data from Beagle testing overseas.

Some companies that still use still use Beagles for testing and or source and use data overseas are-

Pfizer:  Is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation focused on prescription medicines and vaccines.

Nestlé: Is the parent Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate

Nestlé (Purina) Is a wholly owned American subsidiary of Nestlé specialising in pet food, treats, and care products 

Bayer: Is a major German multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences corporation.

Thankfully Beagle Freedom Australia work to rescue them as well as other animal welfare platforms but its still legal to do theses things to the Beagles in the first place and most don't even get a chance at life. I want to make a change and take this to the parliament to hopefully stop this for all. It is time for Australia to join other countries that have enacted bans on animal testing. By adopting policies that prioritize humane, innovative research methods, Australia can lead the way in protecting animals.

Join me in urging the Australian government to make testing on beagles illegal.  It is my life goal to save every single Beagle, by signing this petition, you will be advocating for the ethical treatment of animals and supporting advancements in humane scientific research. Please sign and share this petition to help us bring about this crucial change. This means so much to me so thank you to everyone to has sign this petition, I believe that we will stop this once and for all.