HARRISBURG, Pa. — State Senator Doug Mastriano and animal rights advocates showed up in Harrisburg on Tuesday for the first-ever Beagle March on the Capitol.
The march comes as Senator Mastriano introduces his legislation attempting to stop animal testing in Pennsylvania.
Recent data shows Pennsylvania laboratories, including state higher learning institutes, house thousands of dogs and cats for experimentation. Both lawmakers and advocates say it's inhumane.
"These are breeding facilities that continue to breed animals for the purpose of research every single day. Right [now] in Pennsylvania, 2,800 dogs and 1,600 cats last year alone were used as test subjects," said Kristen Tullo, the Pa. state director of the Humane Society of the U.S.
Senator Mastiano's bill would defund animal testing and make dogs and cats in labs available for adoption.
“We want these dogs and cats to find loving homes where they can live out the rest of their lives in peace and comfort,” Mastriano said. “I’m so grateful to the families who adopt these dogs and cats and give them a second chance at life.”
The beagle event was supported by the Humane Society of the United States, the Adams County SPCA, and the White Coat Waste Project, which is a bipartisan coalition of 3 million taxpayers opposed to the government's wasteful spending on animal experiments.