Here’s a roundup of last week’s biggest news stories related to animal research — all the recent media coverage you need to know right now to be the most effective activist for animals in labs.
This Week: Rise Up for Lab Victims
Rise for Animals, 4/22/2025
Join the fight to end animal testing this World Day for Animals in Laboratories! Honor the animals science tries to forget. Discover six actions you can take to help animals in labs now: 📰 See Six Ways You Can Help Animals Now →
PETA claims monkey died ‘painful death’ at OHSU research center, requests investigation
Jashayla Pettigrew, KOIN 6 News, 4/18/2025
“People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is calling on federal leaders to investigate an Oregon research center after a monkey died a ‘painful death’ while in its care.”
“ . . . the facility has been accused of ignoring the symptoms of a Japanese macaque that died from sepsis last October . . . The report claims a technician neglected to notify a veterinarian when the 4-year-old female monkey was found ‘lying down multiple times’ the day before her death.” 📰 Full Story →
PCPC pushes for broader scope of US FDA animal testing phase-out
Mieke Meintjes, personal care insights, 4/20/2025
“The [Personal Care Products Council (PCPC)], representing more than 600 cosmetics and personal care companies, praised the FDA’s announcement but called for broader application.”
“‘We agree with the FDA that continued reliance on outdated animal testing models is unnecessary and inefficient, and we urge the FDA to extend this ban to cosmetics and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, such as sunscreen products,’ the organization says in a statement.”
“‘PCPC and our member companies have long supported an end to animal testing for cosmetics and personal care products, including OTCs,’ the group states. ‘We are encouraged to see positive momentum in this direction and look forward to continued engagement with the FDA to advance efficient, innovative, and safe methodologies.’” 📰 Full Story →
Watchdog asks NIH to cut USC animal experimentation funding
Karthik Krishnamurthy, Daily Trojan, 4/21/2025
“Stop Animal Exploitation NOW!, a national watchdog organization for lab research on animals, sent a letter to the director of the [NIH] on April 8, asking that the NIH revoke USC’s animal welfare assurance . . . If USC’s animal welfare assurance was revoked, the University would not receive federal funding for lab research on animals.”
“The letter cited several violations of animal welfare laws by USC researchers in recent years — including improper surgeries and unapproved euthanasia of mice — as well as retracted journal articles as evidence that the University’s animal research programs are not ‘adequately supervised’ and therefore should not receive federal funding for research on animals.”
“‘If you’re talking about a private individual that’s had three DUIs, at some point, you would expect their driver’s license to be revoked,’ [Michael Budkie, the executive director of SAEN] said. ‘How many failed USDA inspections and how many failed or suspended research protocols, let alone retracted journal articles, does it take for the animal welfare assurance to be revoked?’” 📰 Full Story →
Report alleges criminality in Cambodia, Vietnamese monkey trade
Gerald Flynn, Mongabay, 4/21/2025
“Many long-tailed macaques imported into the United States from Southeast Asia were likely poached from the wild and then sold as captive-bred to medical research institutions, a recent report alleges.”
“The 137-page report by Sandy River Research details ‘biologically impossible’ birth rates at monkey-breeding facilities across Southeast Asia. It highlights contradictory claims made by these facilities about their capacities and uses calculations based on publicly available data regarding the export of monkeys, suggesting that wild monkeys are being caught, laundered at scale through the Mekong region’s breeding facilities, and then sold as captive-bred monkeys, mostly to U.S.-based researchers. The report goes on to note how regulatory failures and a lack of due diligence has ensured that poachers, smugglers, breeding facilities and the biomedical research industry have found ways to profit at the expense of endangered long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis).”
“[Interests in preserving the nonhuman primate trade] stem from international buyers, largely within the biomedical research sector, who wield immense influence owing to the vast profits associated with their work . . . The industry has proven highly resilient in the face of mounting scandals that have been exposed through the Southeast Asian supply chain of monkeys.” 📰 Full Story →
Doctors Group Urges Oregon Health & Science University to Halt Controversial Primate Reproductive Study
Scienmag, 4/22/2025
“In a stark and controversial move, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) filed formal complaints on April 22, 2025, targeting Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) alongside federal agencies including the [USDA] and the [NIH]. The complaints demand the immediate cessation of a highly invasive reproductive research study involving nonhuman primates at the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC). ”
“This study, which has garnered $525,000 in NIH funding and is scheduled to proceed until August 2027, probes the impact of chronic tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) exposure on male reproductive parameters, including testicular volume, sperm integrity, and overall fertility. This ongoing experiment introduces THC to primates who are subjected to stringent restraint protocols. Notably, semen collection is performed via electroejaculation, an intrusive method used repeatedly—up to 18 times within a 70-day period. Electroejaculation involves delivering electrical stimuli to the reproductive organs to induce ejaculation….”
“The complaints lodged by PCRM serve not only as a formal challenge to OHSU’s practices but as a broader indictment of systemic issues within primate research in America. They underscore the necessity for institutions to align their research practices with contemporary ethical standards and scientific advancements.” 📰 Full Story →
UMass Amherst Settles with PETA, Agrees to Release Animal Research Records and Pay Legal Fees
Mitch M. Rosenthal, hoodline, 4/22/2025
“After a heated legal tussle, the University of Massachusetts Amherst has agreed to a settlement with [PETA], handing over records of its controversial animal research practices. The agreement culminates a public records lawsuit filed by PETA in September 2022 when UMass was accused of not providing materials related to its experiments on marmosets, as required by Massachusetts state law. In a victory for the animal rights organization, UMass will relinquish all previously withheld experiment documentation and will pay PETA $50,000 to cover legal fees….”
“The settlement also mandates UMass to disclose the names of the individuals serving on the university’s institutional animal care and use committee, responsible for ensuring adherence to animal protection laws and regulations.”
“Amidst the ongoing debate over animal rights in scientific research, this settlement signals a larger conversation about transparency and the ethical boundaries of using animals in the pursuit of human health advancements.” 📰 Full Story →
Doctors Protest Medical College of Wisconsin Over Deadly Use of Animals in Surgical Training
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 4/22/2025
“This doctor-led demonstration, which called for a shift to modern, human-relevant surgical training methods, also featured mobile billboards circulating throughout the area. Featuring an image of a young pig, the billboards read: ‘MCW: Patients Aren’t Pigs! Stop Killing Animals to “Teach” Surgeons. PCRM.org/MCW.’”
“MCW already has the ‘state-of-the-art’ STAR Center, which offers high-fidelity patient simulators and procedural task trainers that accurately model human anatomy and could replace animals for surgery training. Scientific studies show that simulators and cadavers are equivalent or superior to animals in teaching surgical skills, building confidence, and preparing surgeons for real-world stress.” 📰 Full Story →
Some Butchers Wear Lab Coats, Call Themselves Scientists
Rise for Animals, 4/24/2025
Discover a disturbing truth behind animal research labs: untrained students and researchers routinely performing invasive surgeries on animals with little to no oversight, leading to widespread suffering and death — all in the name of science. 📰 Full Story →