Throughout the United States beagle dogs are used in laboratories as research models in the study of human diseases. People concerned about the plight of such animals divide roughly into two camps: Animal welfare advocates who work to make sure that animals used in research are treated humanely and animal rights activists who want to stop animal experimentation entirely.

The animal welfare movement was responsible for passage of the Animal Welfare Act in 1966, which set down rules governing the treatment of laboratory animals. For example, the act requires that dogs used in research be housed in clean cages, given toys to play with, and provided with human contact. Welfare proponents accept the human exploitation of animals provided that the animals are treated as humanely as possible. In general, these activists believe that humans have greater moral worth than animals. Columnist Stephen Schwambach articulates...