“We are not rats and we are not even other primates,” Collins said, but NIH is now using more of both WASHINGTON D.C.–– Francis S. Collins, who both de-emphasized animal research and presided over expanded animal research during his 12 years as director of the National Institutes of Health [NIH], on October 5, 2021 disclosed […]
Animal labs get free pass on inspections; AV groups mostly don’t notice
Harvard law student discovers animal lab inspections have been cut short since 2019 CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts––The silence from a cage of dead monkeys could scarcely be more deafening. Three business days plus a weekend of apparent near-complete non-response from the animal advocacy community have elapsed since the Harvard Law School Animal Law & Policy Clinic […]
In Defense of Animals founder Elliot Katz dies at 86
Animal rights movement pioneer SAN RAFAEL, California–– In Defense of Animals founder Elliot Katz, DVM, “died peacefully on March 24th at the age of 86,” the organization announced via Facebook on April 9, 2021, after word of Katz’s death had percolated through the animal advocacy community for several days. “Dr. Katz was a trailblazer […]
Rabbit sperm donors may be retired from service, but not rats, mice, & birds
And not most rabbits in laboratory use, either WASHINGTON D.C.––Former Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler, in one of his last actions before leaving office with the Donald Trump presidential administration, “issued a January 20, 2021 directive instructing the agency to plan for the retirement of the last remaining rabbits in the EPA’s taxpayer-funded […]
Pig transport truck kills animal advocate Regan Russell outside slaughterhouse
Accident reprises 1995 death of British protester Jill Phipps BURLINGTON, Ontario––Regan Russell, 65, of Hamilton, Ontario, was on June 19, 2020 crushed to death by an 18-wheel livestock transport truck delivering pigs to slaughter at Fearman’s Pork Inc., the largest and oldest slaughterhouse in Ontario. A local landmark since 1852, and the scene of […]
Top GMO mouse lab closing; sponsor turns toward non-animal research
13-year-old, $38 million facility was British leader HINXTON, U.K. —The Sanger Institute, a global leader since 2006 in producing genetically modified mice for biomedical research use, on May 16, 2019 announced to staff that it will close by 2022, if not sooner. The impending closure is among the first […]
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 […]
Will new Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau be “Justin other bad guy” for animals?
Stephen Harper government, notorious for defense of Atlantic Canada seal hunt, ousted after 10 years OTTAWA, VANCOUVER––“The reign of the Stephen Harper government has collapsed,” exulted Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals executive director Lesley Fox on October 20, 2015, the morning after Harper’s 10-year Conservative Party of Canada regime collapsed in the 2015 […]
Factory-farming monkeys is A-OK with Hendry County brass
Zoning officials zoning? LaBELLE, Florida––Monkey-farming is animal agriculture within the meaning of the zoning ordinance in Hendry County, Florida, county officials announced on August 18, 2015. Hendry County residents opposed to the location and practices of Primate Products and two other nearby laboratory monkey breeding facilities had hoped that they could be closed for alleged […]