HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — Dozens of beagles were at the Pennsylvania Capitol on Tuesday as part of a movement to prevent testing on dogs and cats.

In 2022, nearly 4,000 beagles were rescued from a facility in Virginia where they were being bred for experimentation. Fifty of those beagles ended up at the Adams County SPCA.

Some of those beagles are now also the faces of a push to get lawmakers to ban testing on dogs and cats in Pennsylvania.

“Moving away from animal testing and using non-animal alternatives that are more effective, they’re more efficient, and this is the direction the science community can start moving toward. So we end the suffering of cats and dogs that are in labs right now,” said Kristen Tullo, director of the Pennsylvania Humane Society.

The Pennsylvania Humane Society says 2,800 dogs and 1,600 cats are used for testing in Pennsylvania every year.