MIDLAND, MI — Corteva Agriscience, a division of DowDuPont, has ended a study that involved testing on dogs, as the testing is no longer required by regulators in Brazil, the company announced Monday, March 18.
The company’s announcement comes after an undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the United States. The investigation alleged the testing was taking place at a laboratory near Kalamazoo.
Corteva officials posted the following statement on the company’s Facebook page Monday:
"As we indicated previously, we have been actively advocating with Brazil’s Agencia Nacional de Vigilancia Sanitaria (ANVISA) to amend its requirements for animal testing with pesticides and today we received official confirmation that the tests we were seeking to change are no longer required for our product. We have immediately ended the study that was the subject of attention last week and will make every effort to rehome the animals that were part of the study.
“We are pleased that our efforts produced this outcome, 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 wherever possible and finding alternative means of obtaining the data necessary to assure our products are safe for humans, animals, and the environment. In fact, this particular effort to change Brazil’s requirement had been underway in collaboration with the Humane Society of the United States.”
The Humane Society alleged three dozen beagles were being fed fungicides at Charles Rivers Laboratories, 54943 N. Main St. in Mattawan, Michigan.
The animal rights organization called on the public to sign a petition and demand a stop to the tests and the release of the dogs. As of Tuesday, more than 310,000 people had signed the petition.
Corteva Agriscience, the agriculture division of DowDuPont, initially responded to the Humane Society’s report last week. In that statement, officials said Corteva planned to continue the study until it was no longer needed. At the time, Corteva officials said the testing was required by regulators in Brazil and they had discussed the issue with the Humane Society.
Last week, Charles River Laboratories also released a statement in an email that read:
"Charles River Laboratories operates our facilities in a way that is consistent with our commitment to the welfare and ethical treatment of the animals in our care and in compliance with all federal regulations and international standards.
“As animal caregivers and scientific researchers, we are responsible to our clients and the public for the health and well-being of the animals under our stewardship, and we strive to fulfill that responsibility on a daily basis.”
After Corteva announced Monday it had ended the study, Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, issued the following statement:
“We applaud Dow AgroSciences (Corteva AgriScience) for making the right decision by ending the one-year pesticide test on 36 beagles at Charles River Laboratories in Michigan. This is a significant step that is critical to the welfare of the dogs.
"We now urge Corteva 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.”