Here’s a roundup of the latest, 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.
LISTEN: Rise for Animals on Ending Animal Experimentation
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In the episode, you’ll hear Lindsey talk about the realities of animal experimentation—and the growing movement to end it.
Watch it now on YouTube or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Audible!
Freedom for 1,500 Dogs Trapped at Ridglan Farms
Rise for Animals, 5/5/2026
The release of 1,500 beagles from Ridglan Farms is an extraordinary and hard-won moment for animals. 📰 Full Statement →
Congress Urges RFK Jr. And NIH To Cut Ridglan Farms Funding As Large-Scale Beagle Rescue Unfolds
WAN, 5/1/2026
“Following the recent raid and ongoing rescue effort at Ridglan Farms in Wisconsin, extensively reported on by World Animal News, U.S. Representative Nick Langworthy has sent a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, urging the immediate suspension of federal funding for any projects involving dogs from Ridglan Farms, as well as a plan to phase out all invasive experiments on dogs and cats.”
“According to [White Coat Waste], the NIH has allocated more than $126 million in new taxpayer funding for experiments on Ridglan beagles, as well as other cats and dogs, including additional funding issued as recently as last month.” 📰 Full Story →
1,500 beagles will get new lives and warm laps after release from research facility
David Fischer, Associated Press, 5/3/2026
“The first beagles removed from a Wisconsin dog breeding and research facility that was the site of recent protests seemed to know right away that they were safe. ‘They started within an hour or so coming up to us, wanting attention. Some crawled in people’s laps. Every single one of them are super sweet,’ Lauree Simmons, president and founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, said Sunday. ‘I think they are loving the attention. I just know they know they’re safe.’”
“The first 300 dogs were taken from Ridglan on Friday, with more scheduled for removal over the next week.” 📰 Full Story →
Sanctuary plans for OHSU’s controversial primate research center faces uphill battle
Kristine de Leon, The Oregonian/OregonLive, 5/4/2026
“OHSU has begun formal talks about turning the nation’s largest publicly funded primate research center into a sanctuary for its experimental subjects but it’s not clear if that leading idea for the controversial facility’s future can make the cut.”
“ . . . during a recent OHSU Faculty Senate meeting, [OHSU President Dr. Shereef] Elnahal told staff that such a shift would happen only if fully funded — something he said now appears unlikely without an act of Congress. ‘There will be no deal,’ he said, unless federal money covers the estimated $220 million to $290 million cost. He added that the purpose of the talks is to head off a forced closure of the primate center.”
“OHSU leaders told staff that the negotiations are expected to run through August.” 📰 Full Story →
Thailand’s monkey business: Pharmaceutical labs rely on primate testing
France24, 5/5/2026
“ . . . conservationists are also trying to save the monkeys from another predator: poachers who traffic them for money. ‘Monkeys aren’t worth as much as kilos or tons of drugs. They’re barely worth 30 euros, sometimes even less than 10. But capturing them has serious consequences. They’re separated from their mothers and children. It ruins their lives.’”
“The poaching of monkeys, particularly long-tailed macaques, is widespread in Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand. Most of the animals are sent to medical research laboratories to be tested on. The market for lab monkeys has boomed since China suspended primate exports in 2020. Prices have skyrocketed to as much as 30,000 euros per animal, and help fuel a thriving black market. . . . Behind the trafficking is a network of businessmen and even politicians.”
“‘[Long-tailed macaques] are the most traded and used in biomedical research throughout the world right now. We’re seeing thousands of them being caught from the wild, many here in Thailand, and then illegally smuggled into Lao or Cambodia, where they are then sold to Western countries. . . . The paocher gets about $100. At the end of it, those big monkey farming companies get 20, 25,000 dollars per monkey. It’s ridiculous, and it’s a multi-million dollar industry that is funded by Western countries.’” 📰 Full Story →
Lawmakers Question Witness Over Claims Aborted Baby Parts Were Implanted Into Lab Animals Via Fauci’s NIAID Grants
Brett Wattles, Business Times, 5/6/2026
“A resurfaced congressional hearing featuring Lauren Boebert, former Anthony Fauci and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has reignited debate over taxpayer-funded fetal tissue research after witnesses alleged that Fauci’s agency financed the overwhelming majority of National Institutes of Health experiments involving the implantation of human fetal tissue into laboratory animals.”
“The debate centers on a category of federally funded biomedical studies that use tissue obtained from aborted fetuses to create so-called ‘humanized’ animal models. Researchers argue the models are used to study immune diseases, HIV, vaccine responses and regenerative medicine. Critics, meanwhile, contend the research is ethically indefensible and insufficiently transparent.”
“Among the most controversial experiments were studies involving ‘BLT mice,’ laboratory animals implanted with human bone marrow, liver and thymus tissue derived from aborted fetuses.” 📰 Full Story →
Criminal trial of two Vivotecnia workers begins today
Cruelty Free International, 5/7/2026
“The trial of two employees charged with mistreatment of, and causing serious injury to, animals at Vivotecnia – the Madrid testing laboratory exposed in [Cruelty Free International’s] 2021 investigation – begins on Thursday 7 May.”
“Carlos Martin Llanos is accused of taking blood by inserting a needle into the eye of a live rat with either no or not enough anaesthetic. This procedure, called ‘retro-orbital blood extraction’, can cause severe suffering, and the Comunidad de Madrid (the city’s local authority) acknowledged that ‘this is not a recommended technique for animal welfare [reasons]’ – even when done with full anaesthetic.”
“Rubén Cabrero Minguela is accused of failing to secure a rabbit in a restraint device whilst injecting a sedative into her ear, causing the rabbit to fall to the floor, screaming. Rabbits do not make sounds unless in severe pain. Minguela may have mistakenly injected the cartilage in the rabbit’s ear, instead of a vein, which is very painful for rabbits. The fall either killed the rabbit or made her lose consciousness. The incident was entirely avoidable.” 📰 Full Story →
Bipartisan PRIMATE Act aims to ban monkey imports to US
Will Maddox, FIERCE Biotech, 5/6/2026
“A new bipartisan bill could end the import of primates for U.S. research….”
“Sponsored by U.S. Reps. Greg Steube, R-Fla., and Dina Titus, D-Nev., the Preventing Risky Importation of Monkeys to Avoid Toxic Exposures (PRIMATE) Act (H.R. 8471) . . . would ban the import of nonhuman primates except for limited, clearly defined exceptions, including accredited zoological institutions. U.S. Customs and Border Protection would deny entry to prohibited shipments, with violations resulting in $50,000 fines and the forfeiture of illegally imported primates.” 📰 Full Story →
Inspection of UC Davis facility reveals monkey fights, one sparked an amputation
Corey Schmidt, The Sacramento Bee, 5/7/2026
“Animal rights activists are questioning the University of California, Davis, after potentially preventable fights among monkeys kept at the California National Primate Research Center were highlighted in a routine federal inspection report.”
“A 14-year-old male monkey suffered lacerations to his face and shoulders, according to the inspection report, requiring stitches. The injuries occurred after a staff member opened the door between two enclosures with monkeys that were not compatible, causing the fight. In another case, a female monkey escaped her cage due to a welding failure, according to the inspection report. That monkey then fought with another monkey, causing injuries to the monkey’s face and hands that required amputations. . . . The facility was also found in violation of the Animal Welfare Act, according to the inspection report, by placing animals in cages smaller than required by federal regulations. The USDA inspection found that UC Davis at times kept two monkeys in an 8.6-square-foot space when a 10.3-square-foot enclosure was required.” 📰 Full Story →
How the Ridglan Farm beagles were saved
Bill Lueders, Isthmus, 5/7/2026
“In the end, it came down to money. Two animal rights groups brokered a deal to purchase 1,500 of the roughly 2,000 beagles at Ridglan Farms, the now-notorious dog breeding and research facility about 30 miles from Madison in rural Dane County.” 📰 Full Story →
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