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.
Researchers Get Paid to Step on Baby Snakes
Rise for Animals, 7/23/2025
This story isn’t satire — researchers literally stepped on 116 snakes (including babies!) over 40,000 times to see if they’d become agitated. 📰 Full Story →
Unsealed: What the USDA Saw
Rise for Animals, 7/24/2025
NEW PHOTOS: Inspectors from the USDA documented tiny cages, filth, and animals with bloody injuries. Here’s a rare and recent glimpse inside U.S. animal labs — all through official government photos we obtained via FOIA: 📰 Full Story →
New federal complaint against monkey lab; CEO accuses ‘mealy mouthed terrorists’ of harassment
Amanda Shaw, FOX Carolina, 7/17/2025
“The battle between animal rights organizations and a primate research facility in South Carolina continues. Stop Animal Exploitation Now filed a new federal complaint against Alpha Genesis on Thursday, alleging the lab has been given preferential treatment by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.”
“Alpha Genesis CEO Dr. Greg Westergaard released the following statement in response to the complaint: ‘“Alpha Genesis does not negotiate with mealy mouthed terrorists who sit behind computer keyboards harassing hard working citizens while generating the same old false and misleading gibberish….’” 📰 Full Story →
Florida and Texas Lawmakers Urge NIH to Halt Overseas Animal Research Funding
Mike Jenkins, Tampa Free Press, 7/19/2025
“Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) and Congressman Troy Nehls (R-TX) have sent a letter to Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), commending him and President Trump for their efforts to restore transparency and accountability at the NIH. The letter also expresses serious concerns regarding the continued use of American taxpayer funds for animal experiments conducted outside the United States.”
“In their communication, Senator Scott and Congressman Nehls highlighted that from 2011 to 2021, the NIH awarded over $2.2 billion in grants for research in 45 countries. They assert that a portion of these funds supported ‘harmful and abusive animal experiments’ overseas….” and “emphasize their belief that the situation represents a ‘serious misuse of taxpayer dollars and the unnecessary suffering of animals,’ advocating for resources to be directed towards ‘more ethical and effective research practices that do not involve animals.’” 📰 Full Story →
⚠️ Tell your legislators to permanently end NIH funding for foreign laboratories conducting animal experiments by supporting the CARGO Act. Take action now!
National Physicians Group Celebrates St. Elizabeth for Replacing Animals in Surgeon Training
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 7/21/2025
PCRM “is praising St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital for replacing live animals in its surgeon training . . . Previously, St. Elizabeth’s general surgery residents were sent to Northeast Ohio Medical University in Rootstown to practice more than 30 procedures on live pigs, including making incisions into the animals’ necks, chests, and abdomens to insert surgical tools and to remove the spleen, kidneys, and gallbladder. Any surviving animals were killed after the training sessions.”
“The Physicians Committee is now urging the University of Cincinnati to follow suit.” 📰 Full Story →
PETA files USDA complaint against OHSU after monkey’s death at primate research center
Sana Aljobory, KATU2 ABC, 7/22/2025
“An incident at Oregon Health & Science University’s (OHSU) National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) has prompted a complaint from PETA to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The complaint follows the death of a rhesus macaque, which was found dead on May 14, with its arm entangled in the structure near the top of the pen, and was reportedly mauled by other stressed monkeys in the cage.”
“ . . . ‘The horrific death of this macaque—left trapped in chain link fencing, unable to escape, while other monkeys in the enclosure responded in fear and confusion—should be the final nail in the coffin for the OHSU primate center,’….” 📰 Full Story →
Tradition vs. progress: The ethics of animal use in nutrition science
Venya Patel, Nutrition Insight, 7/22/2025
“Much of scientific nutrition research still relies on animal testing practices, which are rooted in tradition. However, modern technologies that do not rely on animal lives are much more accurate and relevant to human biology and are not subject to human judgment on animal suffering.”
“‘The question is really why scientists are continuing to use models that don’t reflect human biology just because they’re more “complex,” . . . ‘A successful path forward will involve the coordinated use of multiple models — in vitro human systems, computational biology, and other forms of human data. For complex studies, no one model will give the full picture, but a combination of human-based models will provide more useful data than an animal model ever could.’” 📰 Full Story →
Octopuses are tricked by the ‘rubber hand illusion’ like humans, suggesting self-awareness
Eric Ralls, earth.com, 7/22/2025
“Imagine reaching for a cup and feeling as though your hand is moving, only to discover it’s not your hand, but a rubber replica being touched in sync with your real, hidden hand. You still react, convinced the fake rubber hand is yours . . . In a surprising study, scientists found that these famously alien-like creatures respond just like humans and other mammals when exposed to this sensory illusion.”
“Their brains, which are vastly different from ours, still make the same mistake. That suggests a deeper commonality in how ownership of bodies is understood by living minds, regardless of how those minds are built.” 📰 Full Story →
Share this news compilation on X or Bluesky.
Or share this link on Facebook or anywhere:
riseforanimals.org/news/news-july-25-2025