Committee approves bill requiring offer of adoption for healthy research dogs and cats

The House Health & Human Services Committee voted unanimously to advance Senate Bill 85 after sponsors and stakeholders agreed to a technical amendment moving reporting and oversight language to the Department of Agriculture.

Senate Bill 85 requires facilities that use dogs or cats in research to offer animals that are healthy and safe for adoption when the research ends. Facilities that run internal adoption programs may prioritize placing animals with internal adopters first; otherwise the animals should be offered to shelters or rescues. The bill also requires facilities to report annually on adoption and transfer counts and the receiving organizations.

Supporters said the bill is a modest, humane change that aligns Colorado with other states and existing federal guidance. Representative Brunel, a co‑prime sponsor, said modern research ethics and public sentiment favor offering a second chance to animals when studies conclude. Witnesses who testified in support included humane organizations, animal‑welfare advocates and local adoption centers. Aubin Royal of Humane World for Animals said some Colorado research facilities euthanize animals by default and that adoption partnerships could find homes for many animals each year.

Researchers, veterinarians and several animal‑health industry groups participated in a stakeholder process and raised technical and operational questions. The Animal Health Institute said it supports adoption in principle but asked for language that preserves the attending veterinarian’s authority under the federal Animal Welfare Act to make animal‑health determinations. Following discussions with the Department of Agriculture and other stakeholders, committee sponsors offered Amendment L005 to move the reporting and definitions into title 35 and to add a provision making conflicting state requirements inoperative to the extent they conflict with the federal Animal Welfare Act; the Department of Agriculture told the committee it could administer the reporting without additional resources.

Committee action and vote: The committee adopted the sponsor amendment and sent SB85 to the committee of the whole with a favorable recommendation; the roll call in committee was unanimous (13‑0). Sponsors said the measure is similar to laws adopted by 16 other states and noted that federal research agencies and veterinary professional groups have supported programs that reuse or rehome animals when medically appropriate.

What the law would not change: The bill does not eliminate a facility’s ability to euthanize animals for documented health, safety or research reasons; it requires only that animals assessed as healthy and safe be offered for adoption first. Supporters emphasized that adoption would proceed under standard shelter screening and veterinary assessment and that not all research animals would be suitable for adoption.

Ending: Sponsors urged a yes vote in the full House, saying the measure is a narrow, practical step to allow animals that have served in research to spend their remaining years in homes rather than being euthanized by default.