Sacramento, CA — The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors today voted to end the sale of animals impounded at the county shelter to research facilities. Sacramento County was the only county in the state to continue this controversial practice, which local animal advocates have been fighting since the 1980s.
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“This is a practice that other California cities and counties found inappropriate and, therefore, halted long ago,” said Teri Barnato with the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights. “We’re happy the county has finally done the right thing for animals who are under their care.”
Only two facilities purchased animals from Sacramento County’s animal shelter, the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine (UCD) and Sutter Medical Research Foundation. Under the new agreement, UCD veterinary students will use animals from the shelter only in procedures that will benefit the animals. Sutter Medical Research Foundation, which was using animals for both research and teaching purposes, will no longer have access to animals from Sacramento County’s shelter.
“This has been a long time coming,” says Nicole G. Paquette with the Animal Protection Institute. “Sacramento County now joins the rest of California in putting the needs of companion animals above those of research and teaching facilities. We applaud the Board of Supervisors’ decision.”
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Contact:
Teri Barnato, Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, 530-219-7192
Nicole Paquette, Animal Protection Institute, 916-622-7170