Tears As Dogs Rescued From Animal Testing Center Touch Grass for First Time

Newsweek

4 hours ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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A major operation to rescue dogs from an overseas animal testing center came to an end with dozens of rescued beagles experiencing freedom for the first time.
The Beagle Freedom Project helps to rescue and rehome animals used in experimental research, and since 2010 has saved thousands of animals in their fight for "a world where animals are no longer treated as disposable tools for testing."
A recent rescue has seen dogs taken from abroad to find new homes in the United States, with a video of their first taste of freedom going viral online.
Jason Bayless, vice president of the BFP, explained to Newsweek: "These dogs came from a non-U.S. animal testing laboratory, where they were born into a life of confinement and pain, just like most laboratory animals around the world.
"While we don't know the exact facility or the specific tests they endured, details often hidden due to the secrecy and lack of transparency in animal testing, we do know this: when they weren't being used for experiments, they were confined to cramped metal cages, with multiple dogs per cage, stacked one on top of the other.
"They were denied everything a living being deserves: no sunlight, no fresh air, no gentle touch. Their bodies were treated as tools, their lives reduced to test results."
Content creator and animal rescuer Nathan Kehn, 35, who posts to social media under the name @nathanthecatlady, posted a video of the dogs' first taste of freedom to TikTok on June 1, where he wrote: "If this doesn't make you feel good I don't know what will."
The rescued Beagles prepare to take their first steps on grass, after being brought to the US by the Beagle Freedom Project.
The rescued Beagles prepare to take their first steps on grass, after being brought to the US by the Beagle Freedom Project.
TikTok @nathanthecatlady
In the clip, he showed multiple dog carriers in a garden, which held beagles rescued from testing centers overseas, and who were about to "come outside for the first time."
One by one, the doors were opened, and the dogs—who had "never walked on grass"—were given the freedom to explore. Some were cautious, unsure of what to make of the great outdoors, while others sprinted onto the grass and began running, exploring and sniffing, their tails wagging furiously.
Some didn't seem to know what to make of the feel of the grass under their paws, but it didn't take long before they joined the others playing and getting cuddles from volunteers.
Kehn, who volunteers with animal rescue groups around the world to raise funds for supplies and "bring attention to the awesome work they are doing," told Newsweek he was "so excited" to learn the BFP had secured the beagles and were bringing them to safety.
"I've seen firsthand how miserable these poor beagles are when they come out of the lab," he said. "Getting to see their first steps on grass and then watch the spark in their eye when they realized they can play was amazing. It's days like that that give me motivation to keep doing the work I do."
Nathan Kehn with some of the rescued Beagles.
Nathan Kehn with some of the rescued Beagles.
TikTok @nathanthecatlady
TikTok users went wild for the video, viewed close to 5 million times, with one commenter asking: "Why in 2025 is animal testing still allowed?" and another describing it as "beyond belief that animal testing is still allowed in our times."
"I am crying," another said. "Animal testing is so wrong. And as a beagle owner and lover this just breaks my heart thinking of what they endured. THANK YOU for rescuing these babies."
Multiple commenters attributed the rescue to President Donald Trump: in April, the National Institutes of Health—a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Humane Services—adopted a new initiative to reduce animal use in their research. It cited new technologies that allows researchers to study health and disease using human information.
However, Bayless told Newsweek that in this case, the beagles came from a facility outside the U.S., so any American policy changes "have no jurisdiction over their treatment."
He said that getting the dogs to safety in the U.S. took "months of urgent coordination, international effort, and behind-the-scenes advocacy."
But it was worth it—as, "for the first time, these dogs are now learning what it means to live—to feel grass under their paws, to receive affection, to play, to rest without fear."
"Today, they're either in loving forever homes or with fosters who are helping them adjust to life outside a cage. We've watched them discover toys, form bonds, and slowly heal from the trauma they endured," he said.
"Despite everything, they wag their tails. They're learning to trust. It's powerful."