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.
Tell the House to Pass the FDA Modernization Act 3.0
Rise for Animals, 12/16/2024
In an exciting and crucial step forward, the U.S. Senate just passed the FDA Modernization Act 3.0, which aims to reduce animal exploitation for experiments and advance human health. Now, it’s up to the House of Representatives to take action before the congressional session ends. 📰 Full Story →
⚠️ Urge your U.S. Representative to support the FDA Modernization Act 3.0 before it’s too late. Take action now.
How ‘Cruelty-Free’ Is the Beauty Industry – But Really?
Emma Håkansson, good on you, 12/13/2024
“A whopping 78% of brands have no certification to demonstrate their products are not tested on animals….”
“The Leaping Bunny . . . is one of the most rigorous animal testing-free certifications. . . [O]ther certifications, like the PETA accreditation, is not quite as rigorous, relying only on written evidence rather than a verifying audit.” 📰 Full Story →
Alleged Tracking of Endangered Monkeys to Canada Slammed by Toronto Experts, MPPs
Kathryn Mannie, Toronto Today, 12/13/2024
“Canada is allowing massive shipments of Cambodian monkeys to enter the country for scientific research despite serious concerns these primates were illegally trafficked and could be carrying infectious diseases, according to University of Toronto professor Michael Schillaci.”
“‘We’re calling on [the federal government] to simply just do their job,’ . . . ‘There are gaps in the system that these poachers, smugglers and traffickers are exploiting. If there is the falsification of documents to bring in these wild primates and a risk of zoonotic disease spillover to general populations – they have to act.’”
“‘Canada has effectively become a country for laundering endangered macaques,’ . . . this can hardly be a good thing for Canada-U.S. relations. ‘Their regulatory actions are being subverted by this manoeuvre of taking monkeys to Canada, extracting the needed tissues and exporting them to the United States,’….” 📰 Full Story →
SEC Reopens Investigation Into Elon Musk’s Neuralink Likely Launched by Medical Ethics Group’s Complaint Against Monkey Deaths
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 12/13/2024
“A national medical ethics group is heralding a decision by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to reopen an investigation into Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface company, Neuralink. The investigation was revealed Dec. 12 when Musk shared a letter from his attorney to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on social media platform X.”
“The Physicians Committee points to concerns raised by medical experts about the health risks of highly invasive devices like Neuralink’s and their significant potential for severe medical complications in patients. The group has urged Neuralink to halt its animal experiments, which it continues to conduct at facilities in California and Texas, and to instead focus on improving noninvasive brain-computer interfaces.” 📰 Full Story →
Envigo: Kidderminster’s Louise Ryan sentenced after protest
Lauren Chaloner, The Shuttle, 12/13/2024
“[Two protesters] were arrested after they used chalk spray to paint anti-vivisection slogans and handcuffed themselves to the gates of the Envigo animal research facility on September 14 . . . they both pleaded guilty to the charges….”
“The campaigners said their action was provoked by Envigo’s ill-treatment of beagles at its US facility for which the company was fined $35.5 million . . . ‘The company profits from carrying out cruel tests, many of which involve the poisoning to death of many different types of animals including beagles, rabbits, rats, mice and monkeys.’” 📰 Full Story →
Joni Ernst Says Federal Spending on Monkey Studies Is Bananas
Seth McLaughlin, The Washington Times, 12/14/2024
“Sen. Joni Ernst is sick of taxpayer-funded monkey business. In recognition of National Monkey Day, the Iowa Republican shined a light [] on some unique ways Uncle Sam tests the furry primates on the taxpayer dime.”
“Ms. Ernst said the [NIH] has blown tens of millions of taxpayers’ income on, among other things, ‘simian stoners,’ ‘drunk junkie monkeys,’ and ‘gambling coke head monkeys.’ She highlighted studies involving feedings monkeys THC edibles to see how it impacts pregnancy and having monkeys simultaneously use cocaine, nicotine and booze to analyze levels of addiction.”
“Ms. Ernst called the federally-funded monkey research ‘totally bananas.’” 📰 Full Story →
4 Escaped Monkeys Still Stay Together Weeks After Beaufort Co. Facility Escape
Patrick Phillips & Caroline Spikes, Live 5 WCSC, 12/15/2024
“Weeks after 43 primates escaped from a Beaufort County research facility, the four that haven’t been recaptured . . . ‘look good, and engage in species-typical behaviors such as grooming and tree-climbing,’….”
“The word is the first update on the ongoing efforts to recapture the last of the escaped primates since news broke weeks ago that the U.S. Department of Agriculture was reviewing a complaint against the research facility.” 📰 Full Story →
UPDATE: Confusion Over KUMC Protocols Leads to Lab Misconduct Involving Animals
Bella Waters, The University Daily Kansan, 12/17/2024
“A researcher at the University of Kansas Medical Center says his lab’s misconduct involving animal subjects was a result of protocol misunderstandings rather than intentional animal abuse.”
“Zheng was reprimanded in the report for conducting surgeries on rats without proper approval. Zheng said he thought he had approval when he did the surgeries, but he actually didn’t understand what the protocol was . . . these rats did not receive proper care. They did not receive pain relievers after the surgery. Zheng said he did not realize the rats needed pain relievers.”
“According to the report, 70 rats were unaccounted for . . . The investigation also found a sloughed tail and hindlimb of a rat in Zheng’s lab in October.” 📰 Full Story →
A US Farm Breeds Pigs for Human Kidney Transplants
AFP, France 24, 12/17/2024
“Revivicor . . . is at the forefront of xenotransplantation research – the implantation of animal organs into humans . . . Revivicor bred a pig whose kidney was recently transplanted into patient Towana Looney, according to an announcement made Tuesday by a New York hospital.”
“While xenotransplantation research is happening in various parts of the world, the United States is a clear leader in the field. French sociologist Catherine Rene criticized what she characterizes as mistreatment of the pigs as merely vessels for organs destined for humans.” 📰 Full Story →
U.S. Senator Cory Booker Urges FDA to Prioritize Non-Animal Testing Methods for Sunscreen Safety
Sierra Sun Times, 12/17/2024
“On Monday, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) wrote a letter to the [FDA] Commissioner . . . expressing concern over the agency’s call for manufacturers to test sunscreen ingredients on animals despite decades of human safety data supporting these products.”
“‘As you know, Congress passed the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 to allow the FDA to use data from non-animal methods. The agency has an obligation to the public to reduce animal use in safety assessment and to apply the most reliably and human-relevant assessment strategies to evaluate sunscreens, including the use of existing safety data, ongoing clinical and consumer safety assessment, and non-animal test methods. The FDA’s own public materials indicate that there is no evidence that sunscreen active ingredients are unsafe,’ Senator Booker wrote . . . Booker continued, ‘Animal testing should not be required when there are other pathways to demonstrate the safety of these products–pathways that have long been accepted in other countries.’” 📰 Full Story →
A Cat Experiment Exposed (And Why We Tell Such Terrible Truths)
Rise for Animals, 12/19/2024
At the University of Minnesota, cats are subjected to invasive, brutal experiments that end in premeditated death. Funded by millions of our taxpayer dollars, researchers drill into the cats’ skulls and implant devices in their auditory nerves. And, once the cats’ usefulness in the laboratory is exhausted, they are killed one by one.
Find out why we often expose gruesome, true tales like this one: 📰 Full Story →