The FDA currently funds experiments on dogs but, to their credit, the FDA is trying to get out of this line of work.
This week, the FDA announced a new effort to reduce dog experiments, which while laudable, does include using more dogs in a minimally-invasive way.
We love that the dogs will not suffer, and that the FDA has committed to adopting them out after the experiments conclude, but we are asking the FDA to double-check their work and conduct another assessment as to whether this final use of dogs is even necessary.
To be clear, FDA believes that hundreds of dogs will be saved from painful tests and euthanasia over a 2-5 year period if this effort is successful.
But while the test won’t be tremendously cruel, it involves some blood draws. And while the dogs will be adopted out at the end of the study, people don’t have a right to use these dogs, particularly when there’s existing data that can be used as an alternative.
FDA should look to past data sets to determine whether there’s a sufficient alternative to using dogs in this new effort.
You can help save dogs from the FDA’s experimentation
The FDA is currently accepting comments on this study. Join us in asking Commissioner Gottlieb to order an analysis of existing data so that dogs can avoid this unnecessary test. Follow this link to leave your comment.
If you are short on time we’ve provided the following sample comment to help you along. Please customize this text to suit your needs:
Dear Commissioner Gottlieb,
Thank you for working sincerely to reduce the number of animals used in FDA-funded or mandated testing protocols.
Before using the dogs in this initiative, we respectfully urge you to first re-asses whether current data already obtained from past dog experiments could be sufficient for the FDA to use in finalizing their work in this area. Doing so would mean that analysis of the viability of amending the proposed research design to utilize existing animal data sets rather than using more dogs to validate this proposed in-vitro methodology.
Leveraging existing data sets, when available, reduces cruelty, saves taxpayer dollars, and should be equally effective in validation efforts.
Thank you for FDA’s continued commitment to replacing animal testing with humane and effective alternatives, and for the progress you are making in your efforts. We urge you to move even more quickly to put the animals first.