Lab Beagles Released In Spain, 40 Dogs See Sunlight For First Time (VIDEO)

Forty male beagles raised inside a lab in Spain arrived in Los Angeles last week where they will be put up for adoption after being freed from captivity by the Beagle Freedom Project.

The rescue mission is the largest yet for the group Animal Rescue Media Education (ARME). A total of 72 dogs were rescued in the effort, 32 of them having already been adopted in Europe, according to NBC Los Angeles.

ARME's Beagle Freedom Project spokesman Gary Smith said the beagles, all between ages 4 and 7, had lived in cages their entire lives.

"We've been told they lived one per cage in rooms of 10 beagles, but they never had any physical interaction with one another," Smith told the station. "They've been in kennels since they were rescued about a week ago, but aside from that, they've spent most of their lives locked up."

According to the Beagle Freedom Project's website, beagles are the breed of choice for lab testing of pharmaceutical, household, and cosmetic products due to their "friendly, docile, trusting, forgiving, people-pleasing personalities," their ability to adapt to life in a cage and the fact that they are relatively inexpensive to feed.

When the beagles are no longer needed for research, some labs contact organizations such as ARME, who then work to find good homes for the dogs.

Back in June, the organization gave nine lab beagles a second chance at life, filming their first steps out of their cages.

ARME is a non-profit advocacy group and 501(c)(3) organization funded by tax-deductible contributions. Information on how to make a donation or adopt a beagle is available on the organization's website.

Click here to view a list of companies that reportedly do not test on animals.

WATCH:

View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.

WATCH the rescue video from June:

Comments

[doneil328]

07:34 PM on 02/01/2012

Amazing story! Thank you to everyone who saved them. Beagles are the best, especially rescued ones!

http://loveofbeagles.blogspot.com/

[koelschwolf]

06:25 PM on 01/26/2012

God bless you for caring for some poor small animals, to show compassion and love.

[MiamiMama]

01:27 PM on 01/23/2012

Best story I have read on Huff post in a long time! Yes, it made me cry, too. What a sad life many animals live at the hands of humans.

[Hlynn]

10:06 PM on 01/13/2012

I love dogs. My first dog was a beagle.

I love how quickly (considering their traumatic past) these dogs trusted people and enjoyed life as a dog, with animal and people companionship.

Absolutely! Buy cruelty-free products. There are so many to choose from, and as more and more people do it the companies will get the message. If it adversely affects their profits, they will change.

[Urfubar12]

03:28 PM on 01/12/2012

Oh my, this is making me non-stop cry. But in a good way. Man, the first steps that beagal took into the grass...melted my heart.

[LHoney]

02:54 PM on 01/12/2012

It's amazing that they can walk. Poor things. They look so sweet! I think I'd be snarling if I was kept in a shoe box for 2 years...

[dallastexas21]

04:54 PM on 01/04/2012

I think it's amazing that they were able to save so many dogs! It makes me happy and pulls at my heartstrings. Those dogs deserve a kind home, real food, and some of those cheap dog accessories for them to play with (ex. http://www.doggyaccessoriesonline.com ). If my place allowed pets I would adopt one!

[Camelia Texana]

01:10 PM on 12/05/2011

Veanlo es lo maximoooo!!!! Pobres bichos!!!!

[Sandra Botero Rodrguez]

10:44 AM on 12/03/2011

Totatly beautiful!!! Thank you for save them!!! :D ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ Thank u!!!! ♥ ♥ ♥

[liaisonsus]

01:34 AM on 12/01/2011

What would happen if animals did this to humans? What right do we have to this? Is there a just God? No because no so-called higher intelligence could have created such a low and heartless, mindless, greedy and arrogant being. That my friend is proof alone that there no such an entity. I want to throw up..Never been disappointed by an animal, only by human animals, they are the worst.

[The Visitor]

11:28 PM on 11/30/2011

Since I have come to this planet. I have found that a great number of the human species are violent and perverted in many of their ways. This is a true example of the perverseness of some human's behavior. Many of your kind engage in other very destructive behaviors as well with these things you call... drugs and alcohol. There is no need to worry to the good humans', because the day is soon to come when all these things and those perverse humans will be put to rest.

[Valerie Baugher]

08:42 PM on 11/30/2011

These dogs are being used for the testing of cosmetics and household cleaners. If you want to help out you can go to http://www.leapingbunny.org/ or http://www.crueltyfreeconsumer.com/ and get a list of companies that do not test their products on animals. Do not be fooled by "Not tested on Animals" That can mean the finished product was not tested but the ingredients were. You want to see "Cruelty Free" or the Leaping Bunny Logo.

[kansasbashkir]

02:01 PM on 12/01/2011

Thank you, Valerie. Good information to have. Glad you put it out here for us.

[Valerie Baugher]

09:02 PM on 12/01/2011

You're very welcome.

[jscratz]

06:36 AM on 12/04/2011

Thanks for these links.

[mrskay662000]

08:01 PM on 11/30/2011

While I don't support unnecessary torture, I have no problem with legitimate testing. Yes. Even live dissection.

The dogs pull at my heart strings. But the blind man pulls harder.

I would willingly buy 100 bottles over my lifetime of "especially cruel animal tested but now perfected" product if it means one blind person can see again.

And any rational person would do the same. Because many rational people have bought ;'tear free' shampoo for their baby not knowing that it's really just lidocaine in the soap which numbs the eyes. It's not really tear free. And I have no doubt they burned the eyes of a million rats and millions more rabbits to find that there is no such thing as tear free soap that cleans as well as normal soap with a bit of lidocaine.

:)

[Valerie Baugher]

12:31 AM on 12/01/2011

The smiley face at the end of your post in which you advocate live dissection is the must disturbing part of the post. This is one of the reasons that those of us who are pro-animal cringe when we hear " The animals are treated humanely". So humanely that people smile knowing these dogs are being hurt? I would hope that none of the technicians/scientists are so cruel, but I know I am wrong.

At this point in time the chemicals used in cosmetics/household cleaners are well known to their creators. Aside from so-called miracle anti-aging products ( /eyeroll ) most everything has been there and done that. These companies test on animals in order to claim their products are safe for the public (read: AVOID LAWSUITS). Yet an animal's system is NOT the same as a human and products have been tested on animals, declared safe, and then pulled from the market because actual humans were harmed by the products. Anyone who owns a pet knows you can't give them Nyquil for a cold. They are not the same as humans.

There are plenty of cruelty-free cosmetics/cleaning companies http://veganrabbit.com/list-of-companies-that-do-not-test-on-animals/

I know I try my damnedest to keep soap out of my baby's eyes no matter what the label says. Is there some man who went blind from baby shampoo? Which blind man are you referring to?

[kansasbashkir]

02:04 PM on 12/01/2011

Valerie...Love the way you are responding to this article. The link is another good one to have. Again, thank you!

[mrskay662000]

07:46 PM on 12/05/2011

The smiley face is because it's funny that people can't see their version of "respect" is the warped view.

They are dogs. At best I make one my pet and force it to be dependent on me for basic needs and at worse, I eat it.

If you can't see how the above is contrary to the natural order, then you need perspective.

No other animal keeps pets, dresses, restrains, walks, holds in cars/bags or allows their young to abuse them for pure amusement.

But other animals DO use weaker animals for experimentation.

Why do birds bring their chicks living frogs and flopping fish?
Why do lions bring their cubs a live baby gazelle?

It's nature to take advantage over another weaker animal and exploit it to learn from it, eat it or prevent it from sharing your space because you simply don't like it.

To me, it's cruel to inbreed a wolf to the point where you have a sharpei riddled with health ailments and serves no useful purpose.

Humans take it a step further by poking an animal in the eye or injecting them, but what else would you expect from a creature who's brain has allowed them to no longer sniff excrement to determine property lines?

You think it's cruel to experiment and learn from an animal, I think it's cruel to turn animals into accessories.

I'd rather the animal be tortured in a way that benefits me (and you) in a more important way.

[norby413]

04:03 PM on 01/12/2012

Die you piece of human excrement....sorry, human was WAY too generous....

[Rune Borsjo]

06:56 PM on 11/30/2011

Aw geeze, the part where the beagle tries to squeeze through the cage grate to feel the touch of another living creature, even though it was a human being, and humans have tormented them since birth..... made me cry like a little girl.

There have to be better ways than animal research... maybe not cheaper... but better.

[Michaelangelo Design]

04:02 AM on 11/30/2011

Hey guys
Interesting dialogue, it happens here in NZ also (see Campbell Live TV3)

I practice sustainable architecture and also have a degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine. From my understanding - Beauty is an inner journey - it has nothing to do with applying external stuff. From my direct experience - Health is also an inner journey. We all have the capacity to live, love and learn without resorting to experimenting on other beings. If you care to read on this is true:

A long time ago I read a book that captured my awareness. It was about connectivity with all living things/elements/beings whatever you want to call each organism. So I practiced some of the exercises which went like this: I was relaxing in the garden and was watching this beautiful butterfly flitting around from flower to flower. I closed be eyes and asked it in my relaxed mind/heart to join me to show that we were actually connecting. About half a minute later it was resting on my shoulder. I thanked it and then asked it to show that we were really connecting, I said I was rather skeptical. Almost instantly it flew from my shoulder and landed on my nose, open and closed its wings a few times and then flitted away. I was totally astounded.

Whilst I was in Malaysia I did the same with a cockroach which walked back to me, around me and then continued its journey into the night.