Hungarian Dogs $3.30, Chili Dogs $4.25

May 3, 2001 Budapest, Hungary

To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure what the point of that headline is, but maybe you'll be able to derive some distant, allegorical meaning...

In continuing with this week's serial report on the pros and cons of animal testing (read Part I: "Human DNA Cures Dog's Cancer"; and also Part II: "'I See,' Said the Blind Dog"), I stumbled upon this interesting bit:

In Budapest, where Hungarian law permits experimental testing on the stray dogs found in the city, municipal dog pounds frequently sell their catches for scientific use.

According to Dr. László Orbán, veterinarian of the Budapest Dog Pound, "Some of these animals are sold to well-known institutions with a good reputation.  We get Ft1,000 (Hungarian forints) for each dog and sell approximately 100 a year."

Now, unless the Muttcomputer has blown a circuit (we did throw it a doozy this morning), then 1,000 Hunagrian forints converts to $3.30 US Dollars, which is slightly less than two-thirds the price of a chili dog at Shea Stadium.

Interesting, hm?

Dogs specifically bred for scientific purposes, on the other hand, cost researchers about 100,000 forints, or $330, which will buy you that chili dog and maybe two beers at the Mets' season opener.

While some commercial testing is permitted for Hungarian companies as well, generally the regulations are strict, and only scientific and educational institutions may legally perform such experimentation.  Dr. Orbán indicates that cosmetics testing has been forbidden.

Still, the issue at hand is not whether animal testing should be permissible; instead, the issue is if animal testing should be permissible on companion pets—dogs who at one time have known the privilege of having a home.

These "lost dogs" suffer much deeper anguish in the laboratories, not necessarily by any direct cruelty, but simply because they understand the entirety of what has happened to them.  Most of Europe has already banned testing on animals that have not been specifically bred for experimentation.

Professor Vilmos Csányi, Hungary’s most famous ethologist, points out in his most recent book, "It has been proved that once-socialized dogs suffer more during experiments than ones especially raised for this purpose."

This week, the Hungarian Government has been coming under increasing pressure to ban the use of strays for experimentation.
The fourth national conference of animal refuges in Hungary has launched a petition demanding a ban on testing on stray dogs and cats.

Editor's note: We'll provide a link to that petition as soon as we get it.

Hungary has an estimated dog population of 3 million, compared to a human population of just over 10 million*.  Most of these dogs have homes, but several thousand stray dogs wander the streets.  Herman Ottó, Budapest’s first dog shelter, receives 1,500 animals each year.

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