The Humane Society of the United States estimates that 65,000 dogs per year are used for research, testing and education in the U.S. (Photo: Jagodka/Shutterstock)

WASHINGTON, USA: A three-month investigation conducted by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), a national animal welfare organization, has revealed that dogs were unnecessarily used in dental implant experiments. The organization stated that the experiments were done to compare a dental implant with that of a competitor, which is not required by law.

The organization's undercover investigator worked as an animal caretaker in a laboratory at Georgia Regents University, feeding, watering, playing with, and cleaning the cages of six large hound dogs being used in dental implant experiments at the university. According to HSUS's report, the dogs underwent surgery in March this year to have their teeth removed and dental implants inserted into their jaws. They were euthanized only two months later and their jaws were sawed for bone samples.

Legally, the university is required to comply with the federal Animal Welfare Act. However, the investigation revealed substantial noncompliance with federal law and policy, the investigators said. 

In particular, the organization found that a protocol supplied by the university suggested that the research was conducted to maintain a competitive advantage by developing a new product. Given that a considerable number of dental implants have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, there were at least two studies in which human research subjects could have been used, the investigators stated.

In addition, records obtained from the Minnesota Board of Animal Health showed that all dogs came from one of six licensed Class B dealers in the U.S., which are permitted to gather dogs and cats from auctions, online sources and flea markets, among other sources, to resell them to research facilities. The dealer in Minnesota from whom the animals were obtained for the current experiments has previously been charged by the Department of Agriculture for violations of the Animal Welfare Act, including obtaining dogs from unauthorized sources, HSUS stated. According to the organization, all of the dogs in the study could potentially have been stolen pets.

Together with the Department of Agriculture and the National Institutes of Health's Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, the HSUS has filed a legal complaint calling for a closer investigation of the issues documented during its investigation.