Here’s a roundup of the 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.
Now We See It, Now We Stop It: The “Lab Dog” Lie
Rise for Animals, 8/25/2025
On National Dog Day (and indeed every day), we aim to shatter the animal research industry myth that some animals are bred to “serve” in labs.
Here, we reveal the hidden suffering, manipulation, and deaths so-called “lab dogs” endure, with specific focus on Ridglan Farms’ beagles, “Dog 3002,” and St. Joseph’s brutal experiments. We’ll never stop confronting industry propaganda with truth — and we invite you to stand with us as we demand freedom and justice for all animals who are imprisoned in labs. 📰 Full Story →
✍️ Take 15 seconds to add your name: Stand up for the protection of countless dogs imprisoned at Ridglan Farms, the industrial-scale puppy mill still breeding and selling dogs to labs for use in experiments — even while under a court-ordered state investigation into animal cruelty there. Submit your name here.
Premier Ford plans Ontario legislation banning scientific testing on ‘pets’ after issuing harsh warnings
Kendra Seguin, CBC, 8/25/2025
“Ontario Premier Doug Ford has reiterated he plans to introduce legislation banning medical testing on cats and dogs, expanding on that Monday by adding it would focus on experimentation on animals he considers ‘pets.’ Ford first mentioned banning scientific research on dogs and cats two weeks ago, when he vowed to start ‘hunting down’ anyone doing such work after learning of a report citing canine research at London’s Lawson Research Institute and St. Joseph’s Health Care London.”
“Ford did not answer CBC’s question Monday about whether he directly ordered the testing to end, but said he ‘discouraged it.’ ‘I can’t believe they got away with that this long.’” 📰 Full Story →
Public Health Organization NSF Launches Vegan & Cruelty-Free Certifications
vegconomist, 8/26/2025
“Global public health and safety organization NSF has launched a vegan and cruelty-free certification program. Called NSF Protocol 543: Vegan and Cruelty-Free Products (NSF P543), it sets rigorous requirements for various sectors, including food and beverage, pet food, dietary supplements, personal care and cosmetics, and household products.”
“Three certification options are available globally – NSF Vegan, NSF Cruelty-Free, and NSF Vegan and Cruelty-Free. The protocol aims to meet the growing consumer demand for ethically produced and sustainable items.” 📰 Full Story →
New Survey Replicates Findings of Bias Against Nonanimal Research Methods
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 8/27/2025
“A new study conducted by Physicians Committee scientists and collaborators surveyed 100 researchers in India and adds to growing evidence of animal methods bias—the bias some researchers have toward animal experimentation—revealing its impacts on publishing and funding for researchers who use nonanimal methods.”
“In line with previous findings in a global population, about half of respondents said they’ve been asked by manuscript reviewers to add animal experiments to their otherwise nonanimal studies . . . and about a quarter of them even said they’ve used animals solely because they expected editor or reviewer requests for them, a widely regarded unethical justification for animal use. Over half of respondents also said they felt the lack of animal experiments in their grant proposal negatively influenced its evaluation.” 📰 Full Story →
NGO Calls for End to Animal Testing
Rafe Llewellyn, B24/7, 8/27/2025
Cruelty Free International, whose “mission is to help ‘create a world where no animals suffer in a laboratory’”, has “been travelling with their [6×3 metre 3D] artwork to numerous cities across the UK.”
Said Dylan Underhill of Cruelty Free International: “‘We’re raising awareness for the amount of animal testing that is linked to our everyday lives. We’ve come here with a piece of pavement art that is of a typical British living room, something everyone who sees it will recognise. Everything in that picture can be linked to animal testing.’” 📰 Full Story →
Trump makes major strides in shutting down taxpayer-funded animal testing
Stephen Dinan, The Washington Times, 8/27/2025
“Federal funding for animal testing became more firmly entrenched during the Biden years, but the new Trump administration has canceled experiments, adopted out test animals and set new deadlines for phasing out some types of research.”
“On Capitol Hill, the push to rein in animal testing has been gaining bipartisan ground, though supporters say it’s time to push harder. ‘Wasteful animal research seems to have nine lives in Washington, but enough is enough,’ Sen. Joni Ernst, Iowa Republican, told The Washington Times.” 📰 Full Story →
Congress sees bipartisan bright spot in sunscreen legislation
Lia DeGroot, Roll Call, 8/25/2025
“Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are collaborating on legislation to lower market barriers for new sunscreens, in an effort to bring the United States in line with other countries that have seen advancements in sun protection. The proposed legislation . . . would expand on The [FDA]’s authority over a 2020 law directing the agency to consider historical data on the safety of sunscreen active ingredients that have previously been accepted for marketing” and “would require the agency to report its progress in allowing for nonclinical alternatives to animal testing for new sunscreen ingredients.”
“At a time when Congress has been fiercely divided over other health care issues . . . lawmakers are highlighting the collaboration between Democrats and Republicans on the issue.” 📰 Full Story →
☀️ Support The SAFE Sunscreen Standards Act (H.R. 3686). This bill is a commonsense step toward improving public health, protecting animals, and ensuring that regulatory decisions become based on real-world evidence — not industry inertia. Take action now.
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