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.
Finally Free! Alamogordo Chimps Find Sanctuary at Last
Rise for Animals, 3/21/2025
Thanks to the relentless advocacy of supporters like you, we are thrilled to share incredible news: the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has finally begun transferring these deserving chimps to the safety and comfort of sanctuary at Chimp Haven — and your support is helping us fund their retirement! 📰 Full Story →
Waste of the Day: U.S. Funding Continues Dog Experiments in China
Jeremy Portnoy, The Press, 3/13/2025
“A Chinese lab is continuing to receive funds from the U.S. to conduct cruel studies on beagles, according to contracts obtained by the nonprofit White Coat Waste Project and shared with the New York Post.”
“The Chinese company Pharmaron uses the funds to test pharmaceuticals for neurological disorders on 300 beagles per week, as well as mice and rats . . . Some of the dogs are as young as eight months . . . Pharmaron’s proposal to the NIH . . . notes that ‘Beagle dog is docile, cute and easy to domesticate.’”
“Pharmaron, as well as the Chinese biotech firms WuXi AppTec and Genscript Inc., were identified as so-called “companies of concern” and were set to be blacklisted from doing business with U.S. firms in a bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives but was not voted on in the Senate . . . The research contract is just one example of how the U.S. and China fund each other’s medical research, often resulting in payouts for government scientists and potential national security concerns at taxpayers’ expense.” 📰 Full Story →
Commentary: The NIH knows experiments on animals don’t work – but keeps wasting billions on them anyway
Katherine Roe, Ph.D., Bradenton Herald, 3/16/2025
“A bombshell media report recently exposed an official-unofficial policy at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under former director Francis Collins: Top officials conducted public business in private, including by using personal e-mail accounts, to skirt public records law and to keep their scheming hidden from the people who pay their salaries. That’s you, taxpayers . . . It would be easy to write off this episode as an aberration, a symptom of a rogue director. But it’s not. NIH has a systemic problem that continues today.”
“It’s common knowledge on the part of NIH officials, regardless of who’s at the top, that the agency wastes more than $20 billion in taxpayer money annually on ineffective and cruel experiments on animals. But they do nothing to change it. Worse, NIH continues to conceal the truth and deceive the public about the flawed science and lack of relevance of animal experimentation.” 📰 Full Story →
Exclusive – White Coat Waste: Trump’s NIH Cuts Grants For Transgender Experiments on Animals
Hannah Knudsen, Breitbart, 3/17/2025
“Two [NIH] grants awarded under the administration of former President Joe Biden – both to Harvard University – were terminated early on March 12, per WCW, a bipartisan government watchdog.”
“One of the grants, worth $299,940, was titled ‘Gender-Affirming Testosterone Therapy on Breast Cancer Risk and Treatment Outcomes’ and used toward ‘transmasculine’ animal experiments, in which female mice were administered testosterone and had their ovaries removed . . . [This] grant began in September 2023 and was set to expire in August 2025, but Trump’s NIH succeeded in cutting its lifespan short earlier this month.”
“The agency likewise put a stop to a second grant focused on ‘Molecular Mechanisms of Hormone-Mediated Sex Differences in Wound Healing’ that began in September 2024. Per WCW, the $442,444 project was set to receive $2.2 million total through 2029 before Trump’s revamped NIH killed its funding last week.” 📰 Full Story →
Dogs of science; Wisconsin puppy mill could face criminal charges
Bryan Polcyn, FOX6 Milwaukee, 3/18/2025
“A factory farm west of Madison that breeds beagle puppies for use in scientific experiments is facing both criminal and disciplinary investigations for mistreatment of animals. Ridglan Farms houses more than 3,200 dogs whose only purpose is to be used in – or sold for – scientific experiments.”
“In February, a Dane County judge appointed La Crosse County prosecutor Tim Gruenke to consider possible criminal charges. Last week, the Wisconsin veterinary examining board voted to place restrictions on surgical procedures while it considers a possible license suspension for Dr. Richard Van Domelen, Ridglan’s lead veterinarian.” 📰 Full Story →
Blind beagle ‘rescued’ from puppy mill thrives 8 years later
Bryan Polcyn, FOX6 Milwaukee, 3/18/2025
“Ridglan Farms breeds beagle puppies for scientific research. Some are sold to private or public laboratories. Others undergo experiments right at Ridglan. It’s not clear what Ridglan planned to do with the spinning beagle Hsiung whisked away or where she was headed next. At the time, she had no name – just a serial number tattooed inside her ear – DSP-6. Hsiung and his colleagues named her Julie.”
“In the first few days outside the breeding barn, Julie struggled to walk. It was her first time feeling grass and hardwood floors . . . ‘She was nervous and scared of everything,’ . . . ‘She was super, super thin.’ Eight years later, Julie lounges in soft, fluffy dog beds – a contrast to the grated metal cages at Riglan [sic]. She can run and play . . . ‘She’s leading a pretty good life. You know, her needs are being met. And I wish that for all the dogs from Ridglan.’” 📰 Full Story →
PETA Uses 90s Ad Nostalgia to Make Businesses Rethink Animal Testing
Andrea Surnit, DesignRush, 3/19/2025
“What if your childhood toys held a darker truth? PETA’s latest campaign, ‘My First Lab Animal,’ uses black comedy to reveal the hidden cruelty behind animal testing. Directed by Fons Schiedon of production studio Golden LA, the 1990s toy commercial parody shines a light on outdated and often ineffective research methods still funded by American taxpayers.”
“Premiering on Fox News, TV Land, MTV, and Adult Swim, the ad targets millennial parents and businesses alike, encouraging them to rethink animal testing . . . The stark contrast between its cheerful, nostalgic tone and grim message underscores a growing public concern over the use of animals in research.” 📰 Full Story →
Take Action: Bill Poised to “Decimate” the Animal Research Industry
Rise for Animals, 3/20/2025
U.S. House Representatives Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) and Aaron Bean (FL-04) have introduced a new bill aiming to put a stop to animal research funded by federal tax-dollars. 📰 Full Story →
⚠️ If you haven’t already, take action now! Take one minute to write to your legislators, urging them to support the SPARE Act.