Remembering Lynette Shanley, Tammy Sue Kirkpatrick, Coby Siegenthaler, and Lorraine Blake Roth Lynette Shanley, Tammy Sue Kirkpatrick, Coby Siegenthaler, and Lorraine Blake Roth, widely separated in geography, ages, life experience, and focus in activism, likely never met, nor even heard of each other, yet––like tens of thousands of other relatively anonymous women––lent strength to the ever-growing […]
Beyond sentience: will Brexit halt live animal exports from the U.K.?
Minister for Agriculture & Rural Affairs confirms her government is “considering options to control live animal exports” LONDON, U.K.––British cabinet ministers, after the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union, called “Brexit” for short, “must have regard to the welfare needs of animals as sentient beings in formulating and implementing government policy,” according to draft […]
Fewer dogs & cats used in U.S. labs than ever before
Guinea pig, hamster, & rabbit numbers also low, but monkey use was up. Mice & rats? Who knows? WASHINGTON, D.C.––Are U.S. laboratories using more animals than ever before, or fewer, at least of most species? Laboratory animal use data from 2016 released on June 9, 2017 shows record reported lows in use of dogs, […]
Why is animal use in labs up, even as public moral approval is down?
Anti-vivisection organizations claim victory while running on old momentum WASHINGTON D.C.–– Fewer Americans than ever before––just 51%, barely more than half––believe biomedical research on animals is ethically acceptable, according to 2017 Gallup polling data. Paradoxically, total use of animals in experiments appears to have soared to an all-time high, according to research funded by People […]
“Rat-tickler” Jaak Panksepp, 73, showed that the last laugh is on us
The joke, Panksepp found, was on scientists who never realized that animals have senses of humor Jaak Panksepp, 73, the neuroscientist known as “The Rat-Tickler” for demonstrating through rat experiments that rats are as much motivated by having fun as people are, died of cancer on April 18, 2017 at his home in Bowling Green, Ohio. A […]
What Brexit means for “pet passports” & lab animals
Part IV of a five-part series. (See also Will U.K. leaving E.U. mean leaving animal welfare behind?, Farmed animals & the Brexit “diet plan,” Farmed animals & money talks, and Back to the Jungle Book: U.K. wildlife law post-Brexit.) LONDON, U.K.––Among the signal achievements for animal welfare during the 43 years that the United Kingdom has been […]
India drops animal welfare rep from lab oversight board
Animal Welfare Board of India chief ousted for opposing bullfighting CHENNAI, India––Crippling the ability of the Animal Welfare Board of India to monitor animal use in biomedical research and product safety testing, Indian minister of environment and forests Prakash Javadekar has removed AWBI chair R.M. Kharb from his position on the 13-member Committee for […]
Can Tox21 robot take the gamble on animals out of toxicity testing?
Testing device uses cells instead of animals WASHINGTON D.C.––Can a robot detect substance toxicity toward humans faster and more accurately than a traditional test on rats, mice, fish, or other animals? The developers of the Tox21 robot, whose name is short for “Toxicology in the 21st Century,” are betting that the robot can outperform traditional […]
Two furors bring China draft standards for lab animals
Lab animal standards are step toward Chinese national animal welfare act BEIJING, China––A brief public comment period on draft animal welfare and ethics standards for Chinese laboratories closed on March 20, 2016. The draft standards were released soon after two furors erupted over the use of lab animals in China. Medical university dog use “In […]
Leading monkey lab accused of “fatal negligence”
SAEN asks USDA-APHIS to fine Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories the max EVERETT, Washington––Accusing the U.S. facilities of the Japanese-owned company Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories of “fatal negligence” leading to the deaths of monkeys for at least the fourth time in eight years, Stop Animal Exploitation Now on January 27, 2016 asked the USDA Animal […]