STATEMENT OF DECLAN HOGAN, FIELD REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES

Mr. HOGAN. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, about 6 months ago, I had just concluded a 4-year period as a nightclub owner and operator. I was acquainted with Mr. Frank McMahon, director of field services for the Humane Society of the United States, at the time. He persuaded me to accept a position with the Humane Society of the United States as an undercover agent with the specific job of gathering information on the nationwide business of supplying dogs, cats, and other animals to research institutions.

McMahon's proposal amused me greatly since I had no previous experience with animals and the idea of huge profits being made in selling cats and dogs seemed ridiculous. I confess I accepted it mainly as an opportunity to get some badly needed fresh air and exercise after years in a smoke-filled, ear-busting nightclub.

With tongue in cheek, I spent the following week studying reports of HSUS investigations of dog dealers. I couldn't visualize encountering anything like the treatment of animals I was reading about and was pretty well convinced that someone's emotions were surely painting a grim picture. The "indoctrination" wound up with an intensive crash course handling at the Humane Society of Montgomery County in Bethesda, Md.

I was given a 1964 Chevrolet pickup truck that had been made over into the kind of unsuspicious vehicle usually used by dog dealers. Apparently, the Humane Society of the United States knew its business well. On seeing it for the first time, one of the most notorious of dog dealers, Lester Brown of White Hall, Md., said: "You shouldn't have too much to worry about with that, nobody would ever know you were carrying dogs." I was then sent out with a complete list of dog dealers and other suppliers.

In subsequent months, I traveled more than 32,000 miles covering some 15 States. I saw all kinds of dealer operations with animals, bound for research, suffering under the most appalling conditions. I was particularly shocked at the scope and magnitude of the business and the unscrupulous methods of procuring and handling that are commonplace. The cynicism with which I had undertaken the job soon disappeared as my probes developed.

I found that cruelty, whether by omission or commission, is the general rule among dealers. The dealers consider research animals nothing more than a product with resaleable value. The principal motivation is profit. There is no thought that animals are living creatures needing food, water, and care to survive. I saw hundreds of animals in a condition of semistarvation, many others dead from malnutrition, and still more without water, shelter, or care of any kind. I saw pigeons being devoured alive by raccoons simply because no one had bothered to separate the cages of both. I saw dogs tied with short chains to outside, unheated huts in freezing weather. I saw cats lying listlessly in their own feces which obviously hadn't been cleaned up for months. I saw sick and injured animals dying of hunger and thirst in penned enclosures while healthy animals with them devoured the cattle entrails and slaughterhouse products thrown indiscriminately to all.

Easy money and large profits are the easily recognizable causes. Without legal requirements, no dealer will lessen profits by providing heated and lighted buildings, trained personnel, adequate food and water, and veterinary care. Even sick animals are used to "turn a buck." For example, I was shown a beagle by Lester Brown, the White Hall, Md., dog dealer who thought I was there to purchase animals. The beagle was blind in one eye and pus was running from the other. Brown wiped away the pus from the dog's eye with his own ear, saying "they wouldn't know the difference."

The "no questions asked" attitude of the suppliers and the research organizations has fostered the small time operator dealing strictly for beer and cigarette money. Typical of such is Carl Brown whose intentionally vague address is listed as "residing on highway 40 between Havre de Grace and Elkton, Md." Brown, who steals family pets for sale to dealers and then steals from dealers themselves, is known by dealers as a man who will "pick up anything he can get his hands on." Yet, dealers themselves will trade with this man. Gentlemen, I need hardly tell you that the animals handled by this type of character are subjected to extreme cruelty and neglect.

I have found cruelty rampant throughout the entire channel of supply of research animals. The large dealers, last stop for animals going to laboratories, run their operations for maximum profit and minimum loss. The huge number of animals being handled contributes further to the prevailing indifference and carelessness. Turnover is so great that profiteering dealers estimate losses through sickness, injury, or malnutrition will still be lower than the cost of installing proper care and feeding facilities. The healthy animals survive; the others die off, becoming just another entry in the big dealer's profit and loss statement.

Even nominal fines and convictions of dealers for cruelty are hard to achieve under existing laws. Most operations are rural with the dealer usually known in the community. This makes conviction for cruelty by a jury of his peers very difficult. It is readily understandable why humane society officials prosecuting such cases would be discouraged when the presiding judge keeps referring to defendants by nicknames like "Billy Boy" as happened in the trial of William Miller of McConnelsburg, Pa. Federal legislation would help end this situation.

I also applied to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., for a contract to supply animals to that institution. I was received by Dr. Cameron and asked my name and address. No effort was made to probe into my background but I was subjected to a lengthy explanation of the idealistic requirements which NIII supposedly wants from animal suppliers. I knew from my investigations that these standards were not being followed and Dr. Cameron's entire attitude toward me indicated that he was in the position of having to, but not wanting to, deal with a seemingly derelict character. Such is the tremendous demand for animals in research institutions.

In the time allotted me, I cannot cover everything I have seen that has convinced me, an outsider to the humane movement, of the great, urgent need for enactment of a corrective Federal law. The injus

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tices inflicted upon animals being channeled to laboratories are immoral, unethical, and certainly should be illegal in a forward-looking country like ours. Therefore, I ask your permission, Mr. Chairman, to have my detailed report entered in the record.

(The documents entitled "Interoffice Memo" follow:)

To: Frank J. McMahon.
From: Declan Hogan.

Date: October 1, 1965.

INTEROFFICE MEMO

Subject: Animal trading at auctions.

I arrived at Roots auction, Manheim, Pa., at 5:30 p.m., September 28, 1965. The following are a list of my observations:

1. Large truck, John Dierolf, Boyerstown, Pa., printed on door panel. No positive identification of Mr. Dierolf, or any of his workers, was made by me this evening nor did I observe any loading or any other type of activity regarding this truck.

2. Large white truck, license No. 1438HB, Maryland. This truck had 10 to 15 dogs loaded on it at the time I arrived at the auction. Failing to personally identify the driver, I followed a man I believed to be him, consequently, overheard him bragging to another dog dealer how he could get $100 for some dogs he purchased for $25, "Those idiots don't realize we can get 100 bucks for the mutts." This man did not purchase animals this evening, nor did I see any animals being loaded onto the large white truck. The suspected driver of the truck watched the dog auction, and only the dog auction with keen interest. 3. Dog truck, pickup model, Reber Kennels, pedigree beagles, printed on door panel. This dealer bought 15 to 20 dogs, only one purebreed, a beagle, for $13 with certificates. The dealer seemed most concerned about price, rather than size, condition or breed. I was unable to determine why a pedigreed beagle breeder would purchase such dogs.

4. Red Chevrolet, recent model pickup with large plywood, makeshift, built back, completely enclosed, except for two very small ventilation slots which were, incidentally, closed. The license number of this vehicle was R181F7, 1964, Pennsylvania. The man who operated this truck was about 20 years old, referred to as No. 10 in all his business transactions. No. 10 purchased about 20 dogs, 30 cats, several guinea pigs, some rabbits, and 1 goat for $13. These animals were transported to the truck by two men, one about 35 years old with one arm, the other about 50, who I suspected to be the younger man's father (the buyer). Chicken crates were used to store the animals on the truck, as many as four medium sized dogs were placed in one chicken crate. No. 10 seemed to be, from all appearances, an extremely active, frequent buyer at Roots auction. 5. Large truck (4 to 5 tons), darks green, wooden slots on back, impossible to see into, owned by George Miller, license No. T 87-70B, 1964, Pennsylvania. Miller bought 30 to 40 dogs, 2 or 3 dozen cats, some guinea pigs, 2 or 3 crates of pigeons. Miller seems to be quite active and well known at Roots.

6. Large truck (4 to 5 tons), dark green, full enclosed back, no ventilation provided, operated by a man dealing under the name of H. Christ. He was by far the most active dealer present. He is 50 to 60 years old, heavy set, around 200 pounds, 5 feet 9 inches of height, dark complexion, with a completely rotten set of front lower teeth. The truck he used had a wooden plaque on the right side that read: "H. Christ, Box 217, Marlboro, Ridgefield, Pennsylvania.” I couldn't read the license number without being extremely obvious. This man outbid all other buyers for the choice animals, paying anywhere from $8 to $14 for medium-sized dogs. He purchased about 50 dogs, possibly 100 chickens. 20 to 30 cats, some guinea pigs and pigeons.

7. Truck, pickup, dark green, license No. $7053C. This man sold about three dozen cats that he had brought in chicken crates, to the auctioneer.

8. I have reason to believe that dog dealer, Rodney Schreck, is buying animals at Roots. In the animal auction building there are truck stations desiguated for dealers, which have nameplates printed overhead. Another dealer's name had been crossed off one of these and written over was "Schreck."

Date: October 27, 1965.

To: Frank J. McMahon.

FIELD INVESTIGATION REPORT

Investigator: Declan Hogan.

Date of investigation: October 4, 1965.

Type of investigation: Dog dealer.

Name and location of party or facility investigated: Lester Brown, White Hall, Md.

I approached Lester Brown using the same story I had used all throughout the Eastern Shore the previous week-namely, that I was a dog dealer from Winchester, Va., in desperate need of 10 German shepherds in order to fulfill a laboratory contract. He immediately referred me to his son, John, who lives adjacent to him on the Brown property, declaring that he, his son, has several German shepherds. John showed me three German shepherds which were chained to doghouses, some several hundred yards into the junkyard. These dogs had neither food nor water and were extremely emaciated, which was my reason for not buying them. The majority of Brown's dogs are hounds, beagles, and assorted breeds of hunting dogs. They are sheltered in chickenhouses and separate doghouses directly in back of Brown's house. All his dogs seemed to be suffering from either hunger, disease, exposure, or just plain fear. One dead dog was lying in the road in back of Brown's house.

I saw approximately 200 dogs in the kennel area. I could hear dogs barking throughout the junkyard, which occupies almost 3 acres of land. It would be hard to estimate how many were strewn throughout the junkyard. At this time John had to attend to some other facet of his business, so I went back to Brown's house in hopes of striking up a conversation, which I accomplished quite easily. Brown conversed for about an hour and a half, discussing dog dealers, humane activities, prices, profits attained, and anything related to the laboratory dog business. The following is a summary of that conversation.

(1) John Dierolf: "biggest dog dealer around, who fights the humane societies toe to toe." Dierolf sells mostly to laboratories and hospitals in New York and New Jersey, "has the Government behind him." He gets $30 apiece for averagesize dogs. Recently Dierolf has become greatly harassed by humane societies, which have forced him to find new methods of conducting his business. He no longer outwardly buys at the auctions in Pennsylvania, but has George Miller do his purchasing at these auctions. Brown says that Dierolf and Miller stand alongside each other at the auctions and pretend not to know each other during the bidding. Brown went on to relate that Miller's sole activity in the dog business is buying and transporting for Dierolf. Miller delivers every Tuesday night to Boyertown, Pa., where the Dierolf kennels are located. According to Brown, Wayne Fenton and Dierolf's daughter, Ruthie, are managing the Dierolf kennels due to Dierolf's present illness. In the past Brown had dealt with Dierolf, but due to humane activities in the area, Dierolf has restricted his business with Brown to an occasional pickup late on Sunday nights (12 p.m. to 2 a.m.).

(2) Brown stated that he knows Joe McGinnis and Clifford Hughes quite well, but does not deal with them because, according to Brown, their dogs are not up to his standards.

(3) Carl Brown, a man I had met the previous week in Goldsboro, Md., at Joe McGinnis' kennel, was mentioned as a person who picks up, "anything he can get his hands on." He sells to Hughes and McGinnis. The previous Monday Carl Brown visited Lester in White Hall. Lester Brown had, at this time, several cur dogs which he was going to shoot because they were emaciated and sickly, representing no salable value. Carl Brown asked for the dogs, saying he could sell them to Hughes or McGinnis and they could split the profit. Lester, happy to be rid of the animals, agreed, and told Carl to keep whatever he received for the dogs. Carl Brown loaded his car, a 4-door sedan, with as many dogs as he could possibly carry-according to: Lester maybe 12 to 15 dogs.

(4) Lester Brown asked if I knew William Miller, Mike from Lone Trail Kennels, Ron Newton, or George Miller, all men that he had dealings with. Reber Kennels was mentioned as a dealer who is becoming increasingly more active. He indicated that Mike Kredovsky and Reber are closely associated. Brown spoke disparagingly about the activities of humane societies, saying that they were causing him to lose much of his ambition toward the dog business.

He explained that he had curtailed much of his activity with cur dogs. He went on to say that for years he had a contract of $15,000 to $20,000 yearly volume with a Baltimore hospital, but not longer had their trade. Three years ago, Brown suffered a business loss of $1,500 owed to him by Zoological World-Wide, Inc., of Arlington, Va., when they were forced out of business. I asked Brown why he had extended so much credit to the firm. He replied it was not unusual, and that was about the monthly volume that he conducted with this company. (5) Presently Brown is awaiting the arrival of a Dr. Percy from a local Baltimore hospital, he did not know the name of the hospital, to negotiate a new contract.

(6) Brown was extremely interested in conducting business with me, and even offered to transport dogs to my nonexistent Winchester, Va., residence. Brown claims he can obtain any number of German shepherds requested. following is a price list which we arrived at after some squabbling.

A. 3- to 4-year-old healthy German shepherds.

B. 15- to 25-pound mixed breed-

C. 25 to 40 pounds-

D. Over 40 pounds-

E. Registered beagles-

F. Registered beagle pups--.

The

Each

$25.00

4.00

7.00

10.00-12.00

30.00

17.50

Brown told me that he owns a car registered in Pennsylvania for carrying in that State. While at Brown's I witnessed an act of cruelty. Brown had on his porch several crates of pigeons alongside crates of wild racoons. The racoons were reaching through the crates and were eating the pigeons alive. All during my visit with Brown there was a truck with an aluminum camper on the back, license plate 2187 EP, Maryland, loaded with beagles. Also present, a 1954 Plymouth, license plate Pennsylvania R-20864.

FIELD INVESTIGATION REPORT

Date: January 3, 1965.

To: Frank J. McMahon.

Investigator: Declan Hogan.

Date of investigation: November 1 and 2, 1965.

Type of investigation: Dog dealer.

Name and location of party or facility investigated: Bill Nichols, Federalsburg, Md.; Joe McGinnis, Goldsboro, Md.; Lester Brown, White Hall, Md. Arrangements had been made with Ralph Blumenthal, a staff reporter of the New York Times, to accompany me on a routine investigation trip of dog dealers in Maryland. His purpose was to gather firsthand information about the laboratory animal supply business in order to publish an article in the Times.

I met Ralph Blumenthal at the Pennsylvania Railroad Station in Wilmington Del., at 10:30 a.m., Monday, November 1, 1965. Ralph immediately stressed his desire to cooperate.

The first dealer we visited was Bill Nichols, a tavern owner who supposedly sells only hunting dogs as a side occupation. Nichols' tavern and kennel, which is on the same property, is located on Highway 306 on the outskirts of Federalsburg, Md.

Conditions were very much the same as I had reported after a previous visit. Lack of food and water, overcrowded bins, and mixed sexes in the same bins were observed. Ironically enough it would require a keen observer to conclude that conditions were very poor. Evidentally many of the animals present had been there only recently. These dogs, therefore, looked and behaved like normal healthy animals. Also, we had the unfortunate experience of arriving at Nichols just after a general cleaning of kennels. I suppose he had this done in anticipation of many customers due to the opening of the Maryland small game hunting the following day. However, food and water were not present in any of the dog bins. In fact, Ralph noticed that the only food substance on the entire premise was a pile of bread crusts.

The worst offense at Nichols was a shed used to house bird dogs. As many as 20 to 25 grown hounds and bird dogs were seen there. They weighed approximately 40 to 50 pounds. The shed was no larger than 6 feet by 4 feet. I had informed Ralph of this before arriving at Nicholas to be certain that he got a good look.