Chemical Company Agrees To Stop Force-Feeding Beagles With Fungicide

Corteva Agriscience said it will “make every effort to rehome the animals” after a Humane Society undercover investigation revealed sickening practices.
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Three dozen beagles slated for euthanization after being force-fed agricultural chemicals in a yearlong study at a Michigan lab will be retired and offered homes, the chemical company behind the tests said.

Corteva Agriscience, a division of DowDuPont, said on Monday that it will stop the study and “make every effort to rehome the animals.”

The company’s announcement followed a Humane Society of the United States petition drive that collected more than 300,000 signatures. A Humane Society undercover investigation produced disturbing photos and videos of the dogs, which researchers intended to put to death once the study of a fungicide’s toxicity was completed.

“Over the span of the nearly 100 days, an investigator documented nearly two dozen experiments that involved tests on dogs,” the Humane Society said. “The investigator saw dogs killed at the end of studies, and others suffering for months including 36 gentle beagles being tested for a Dow AgroSciences pesticide.”

A tube for delivering test substances is shoved down a beagle's throat in a practice session at Michigan's River Laboratories in Mattawan, according to the Humane Society.
A tube for delivering test substances is shoved down a beagle's throat in a practice session at Michigan's River Laboratories in Mattawan, according to the Humane Society.
HSUS

“We applaud Corteva for making the right decision by ending the test and urge them to work with us to get the dogs out of the laboratory and to our shelter and rescue partners so that they can be adopted into loving homes,” the Humane Society said in a statement following the company’s announcement.

Corteva has previously acknowledged “there are better ways to attain the data needed” than by forcing beagles to ingest agricultural fungicides. But it said the testing on dogs was required by Brazilian regulators.

The company on Monday said Brazil authorities had issued a waiver allowing the study to stop. This followed the company’s collaboration with the Humane Society, it said.

One of 21 beagles killed at the lab during another test of two drug substances, according to the Humane Society.
One of 21 beagles killed at the lab during another test of two drug substances, according to the Humane Society.
HSUS

“We are pleased that our efforts produced this outcome,” the company said in a statement, “and we note that it is yet another result of work our heritage companies have been doing for many years to continually refine, reduce, and replace animal tests whenever possible.”

A spokesman for Corteva Agriscience, reached by HuffPost on Tuesday, did not specify when the dogs were expected to be rehomed.

“We have immediately ended the study, and will follow a careful process to find good, caring homes for these dogs,” said Gregg Schmidt in an email.

This story has been updated with a response from a Corteva Agriscience spokesman.

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