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Two CA Bills Aim to Shut Down Captive Donor Dog Blood Banks - National Humane Education Society

June 16, 2020

Paws Up! To California legislators Scott Wilk and Richard Bloom for introducing bills that would phase out captive dog donor facilities.

Two bills in the California state legislature are about to change many dogs’ lives forever. SB 1115 introduced by Senator Scott Wilk, and AB 1953 introduced by Assemblyman Richard Bloom–both of Santa Monica, California–would phase out the use of captive closed colony blood banks for dogs. Instead, dog blood banks would be community-driven, relying on blood donations from volunteer dogs in the community, much like how human blood drives work.

An often overlooked and forgotten necessity for our animals in times of medical crises is donated blood. Just like humans, many times dogs with traumatic injuries or serious medical issues need blood for life-saving surgeries and procedures. Most often, this blood is donated by “volunteer donor dogs” at dog blood drives in their communities. Not long ago, however, this was not a volunteer practice, but a compulsory one.

Many canine blood banks operated “captive closed colonies” which consisted of groups of dogs–often retired or rejected racing greyhounds due to their universal blood type–caged for several months in laboratory facilities as they had their blood drained from them. This blood would then be sold to veterinary clinics and animal hospitals around the country. The majority of these awful facilities are shifting to a more humane and voluntary donation model, much like human blood donor drives.

After suffering years in the racing industry, many greyhounds endure more time in captivity in unkempt and inhumane facilities to have blood drawn from them due to having a universal blood type.

California, however, is the only state that prohibits veterinarians from using blood from community volunteer blood banks, restricting them to purchase the blood from these cruel facilities where dogs are treated like machines. SB 1115 and AB 1953 in the California legislature would phase out these horrible facilities with plans to bolster community support for more humane methods of blood donation–mainly, that dogs can go home with their families after giving blood rather than being put back in a cage in a lab.

Take Action: Californians, contact your senators and assemblymen immediately to tell them to vote in favor of SB 1115 and AB 1953. Please tell your lawmakers to speak out against cruelty and injustice towards animals! If you are interested in learning more about your dog becoming a volunteer blood donor, contact your veterinarian to find out if your dog is eligible and where to donate!

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