Ch. 14— State Regulation of Animal Use • 319 
Table 14-2.— Laws on Pound Animal Use, 
by Jurisdication 
State/jurisdiction 
Prohibit 
release 
Require 
release 
Allow 
release 
No mention 
in law 
Other 
Alabama 
X 
Alaska 
X 
Arizona 
X 
Arkansas 
X 
California 
X 
Colorado 
X 
Connecticut 
X 
Delaware 
X 
District of Columbia . 
X 
Florida 
X 
Georgia 
X 
Hawaii 
X 
Idaho 
X 
Illinois 
X 
Indiana 
X 
Iowa 
X 
Kansas 
X 
Kentucky 
X 
Louisiana 
X 
Maine 
X 
Maryland 
X 
Massachusetts 
X 
Michigan 
X 
Minnesota 
X 
Mississippi 
X 
Missouri 
X 
Montana 
X 
Nebraska 
X 
Nevada 
X 
New Hampshire 
X 
New Jersey 
X 
New Mexico 
X 
New York 
X 
North Carolina 
X 
North Dakota 
X 
Ohio 
X 
Oklahoma 
X 
Oregon 
X 
Pennsylvania 
X 
Rhode Island 
X 
South Carolina 
X 
South Dakota 
X 
Tennessee 
X 
Texas 
X 
Utah 
X 
Vermont 
X 
Virginia 
X 
Washington 
X 
West Virginia 
X 
Wisconsin 
X 
Wyoming 
X 
SOURCE: National Association for Biomedical Research, State Laws Concern- 
ing the Use of Animals in Research (Washington, DC: Foundation for 
Biomedical Research, 1985). 
other educational or scientific establishment 
within the Commonwealth above the rank of sec- 
ondary school, which, in connection with any of 
its activities, investigates or gives instruction con- 
cerning the structure or functions of living or- 
ganisms or the causes, prevention, control or 
cure of diseases or abnormal conditions of hu- 
man beings or animals. 
Effective October 1, 1986, Section 9 of the law 
will forbid the importation of similar animals into 
the Commonwealth for research purposes: 
... no person, institution, animal dealer or their 
authorized agents shall transport, or cause to be 
transported, any animal obtained from any mu- 
nicipal or public pound, public agency, or dog 
officer acting individually or in an official capac- 
ity into the Commonwealth for purposes of re- 
search, experimentation, testing, instruction or 
demonstration. 
Under the provisions of Section 9, any institution 
obtaining animals before the deadline must have 
filed a report with the Department of Public Health 
“detailing its plans for discontinuation of the use 
of such animals.” 
The impact of recent laws forbidding the acqui- 
sition of unclaimed animals for research is un- 
certain. Research community representatives in 
Massachusetts have claimed that the new laws, 
when fully in effect, will add perhaps $6 million 
to the annual price of research conducted in the 
Commonwealth (80,82). The added cost to tax- 
payers of humanely destroying animals that re- 
main unclaimed at pounds must also be consid- 
ered, although it could be argued that taxpayers 
bear the cost of sacrificing animals in research 
as well, however indirectly (81). The effects of the 
new Massachusetts laws merit close observation. 
Recent Initiatives in 
Pound Release Laws 
The success of those who wish to repeal pound 
release laws or to prohibit the use of stray and 
abandoned companion animals in research bv 
some other means has been spotty. Most of the 
