Texas Lawmaker Sponsors Bill to Provide Adoption for Research Cats and Dogs

Sometimes, an animal used in research gets euthanized, but one lawmaker from Texas is trying to change this practice.

Last week, State Rep. Ina Minjarez sponsored House Bill 2490, which provides adoption opportunities for healthy cats and dogs previously used in research. A similar bill is up for a vote in the Hawaii state legislature.

U.S. Department of Agriculture says that about 61,000 dogs and 19,000 cats are used in research, and many of them deserve to find a loving home.

Ina Minjarez spoke with the Texas Humane Legislative Network about her proposed bill.

“This bill would require research facilities which use animals for lab testing to make good faith efforts to place retired lab animals up for adoption through partnerships with area animal shelters; as long as the retired animal does not have a substantial medical or mental condition that would prevent it from successfully being integrated into an adoptive home,” Minjarez posted on Facebook after speaking with the group.

“This legislation represents a second chance for hundreds of dogs and cats currently in laboratories in Texas,” said Marcia Kramer, director of legal and legislative programs for the National Anti-Vivisection Society, to Texas television station WFAA. “Too often, animals used in research are regarded as disposable commodities, euthanized and discarded when they’re no longer ‘needed,’ instead of having a chance to live outside the laboratory. These animals deserve better.”

Minjarez has previously sponsored numerous animal rights bills. Examples include legislation to fight animal cruelty, end bestiality, and to stop the unlawful restraint of dogs.

Your Daily Dish reached out to Minjarez for a comment.