R & R Research sells dogs and cats it receives from Montcalm County Animal Shelter to research facilities. ©iStock.com

Many of the pets at the Montcalm County Animal Shelter in Stanton, Mich., aren’t destined for loving, adoptive homes-they’re headed for a company that sells dogs and cats into research.The Montcalm County Board of Commissioners, which oversees the shelter, currently provides pets free of charge to Howard City, Mich.-based R & R Research. The for-profit business is one of 11 U.S.-based Class B dealer facilities licensed by the USDA to round up live “random source” dogs and cats-from shelters, auctions, flea markets, private individuals and other sources-to sell to animal research facilities.

On Monday, April 27, the Montcalm County Board of commissioners will vote on the renewal of R & R Research’s contract.   If you live in Michigan – take action NOW!

The USDA has also documented a number of owned pets at the R & R Research facility, some of whom were sold to research facilities. Between August 1995 and December 2002, USDA inspectors noted six microchipped dogs and one cat at the facility. Three of these pets were returned to their owners and four were sold to a research facility. It is impossible to know how many owned pets who did not have microchips, or were not scanned for microchips, were sold by R & R Research to research facilities instead of being returned to their owners.

 Read more of this article on the website of The Humane Society of the United States.