Class "B" Animals Sold for Medical Research

I learned something new from this article. I had never heard the use of the term "Class B."

In the shadow of a $5 million-dollar grant given to Oklahoma State’s renowned veterinary school and then rescinded due to allegations of abusive and cruel animal research practices, Oklahoma State University Philosophy Club and Friends of the Forms will host animal activist Chris DeRose. DeRose will speak at 7 p.m., on Monday at the OSU Student Union Little Theater on the second floor. DeRose will address the use of “Class B” animals in veterinary schools and research labs.

Class B dealers are animal brokers who acquire animals from places such as pounds, flea markets and newspaper ads for the purpose of selling them to research institutions or veterinary schools. Often the care of animals at such dealers is considered substandard.

It's sad. It's really just a matter of luck whether an animal gets to go home to a warm bed or to a cold cage in a laboratory. Truly unfair.