Shelter Sells Dead Cats for Research

If stray animals in Warner Robins don’t find new homes, they may find a use on a lab table.
Police Chief Brett Evans says they’re selling euthanized cats to bio-medical research facilities and using the money for maintaining the shelter.
The practice is legal according to the Department of Agriculture.
The sale of what’s called “random source animals” is also supported by the American Veterinary Medical Association. The association says their use can improve the health of humans and animals alike.
One animal activist in Warner Robins calls it unethical to make money off dead animals.
Brenda McAnnally read up on the issue and doesn’t like what she found out about the legal sale of euthanized cats to research facilities. McAnnally said, “To me a place that would sell an animal for profit, gives them a great incentive to kill and sell for profit. More kills, more money.”

Chief Evans says that’s not the case. He said, “Some people would probably do that as a matter of business too, but we don’t. I think the numbers that our statistics show, the number of animals is actually declining on the euthanasia side.”
Evans says in 2006 they euthanized 3,486 animals. In 2007, that number dropped to 3,130. To date this year, they’ve put down 2,061, and project that number to total about 3,091 year’s end.
As for the money made off euthanized animals, Evans said that totals $1,818 since they began selling the dead cats for three dollars each last year.
Evans said, “We certainly are not in a position to where we need the money in order to operate. It has absolutely nothing to do with sustaining business, nothing to do with the ability or inability to operate a shelter.”
Evans says the money goes into the donation fund to pay for shelter upkeep and care of the animals. He says if the carcasses didn’t go to research, they would end up in a landfill.
KB Enterprises, the company picking-up the dead animals from the Warner Robins shelter, is based in North Carolina. Chief Evans says it collects carcasses from numerous other shelters throughout the southeast. KB says its mission is to “redirect animal carcasses that would otherwise be incinerated, for educational purposes.” It does not deal with live animals.
Shelter director Brenda Parks-Mathern says city law requires her to hold all animals a minimum of four days. According to shelter documents, animals often stay more than a week before they’re euthanized, unless they’re sick or injured.

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