Abstract
When laboratory dogs are rehomed into private households, they experience an extreme change in their life situation. They leave their familiar, limited environment in the research facility and encounter a multitude of animate and inanimate stimuli in their new home. Although literature reports have described the experiences with rehoming as being mostly positive, scientific observations of the dogs in everyday situations have not been done. Hence, we conducted an observational test with 74 laboratory beagles 6 weeks after adoption in their new homes. This test included standardized tasks and elements; the dogs were observed during specific interactions with their new owners and during a walk. Furthermore, the owners of these 74 and of 71 additional dogs participated in standardized phone interviews 1 and 12 weeks after adoption, during which they answered questions about the dogs’ behavior in everyday situations. In the observational test, the dogs behaved mostly friendly towards humans and dogs, were tolerant during manipulations by the owner and were relaxed during the walk, even in traffic. Eighty percent (of n = 71) of the dogs walked well behaved on the leash without pulling. According to the interviews, the majority of the dogs showed desired, friendly and relaxed behavior, and the survey results reflected the bonding between dog and owner. The analysis of a possible influence of various factors (age, sex, origin, etc.) using mixed regression models confirmed the results from two previous behavior tests and interviews. Specifically, dogs that had been bred in the research facility scored significantly better than dogs that the research facility had purchased from commercial laboratory dog breeders (p = 0.0113). The results of this study demonstrate a successful adaptation of the rehomed beagles to their new life situation.
Highlights
In light of the significant public interest in the fate of laboratory dogs, their rehoming into private households should be enabled [1]
All dogs placed within a radius of 200 km from the research facility were visited in their new homes (n = 74)
This bonding may explain why the dogs were seeking less contact with the test person in the observational test in the new home than in the behavior test conducted in the research facility before rehoming
Summary
In light of the significant public interest in the fate of laboratory dogs, their rehoming into private households should be enabled [1]. In Germany, many companies and universities have been facilitating such rehoming for many years, and reports indicated mostly positive experiences with this process [2]. The German Animal Welfare Act [3] declares the killing of vertebrates “without sound reason” a punishable offense. According to the lawyers Lorz and Metzger [4], a “sound reason” for killing can exist when surplus laboratory animals cannot be placed with qualified and sensible persons. As rehoming practice in Germany shows that appropriate new owners can be found and that the dogs seem to adapt [2], no sound reason exists to euthanize surplus or post-experimental laboratory dogs unless they would experience pain and suffering if kept alive. Humans have an ethical obligation to provide healthy animals with appropriate living conditions
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