Here’s a roundup of this 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.
Fauci NIH Lab Infected Bats with Wuhan Coronavirus, Obtained From Zoo Near Camp David, Report
Greg Piper, 10/30/2023
“ . . . a low-rated zoo gave the [NIH] several bats to infect with a coronavirus from the same Chinese lab that some federal agencies believe is responsible for the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, according to a new investigation and published report.” Full Story →
Adorably, Bumblebees Enjoy Playing Ball For Fun Just LIke Dogs and Dolphins
Eleanor Higgs, 8/28/2023
“Not only did the bees go out of their way to roll the balls, with no apparent incentive, but younger bees rolled more balls than older bees, similar to human children and other young animals.”
“‘This sort of finding has implications to our understanding of sentience and welfare of insects and will, hopefully, encourage us to respect and protect life on Earth ever more,’….” Full Story →
PETA Complaint Over Monkey’s Death Prompts State Probe Into UW
Frank Sumrall, 11/1/2023
“The Washington State Department of Health’s Veterinary Board of Governors has opened an investigation into the University of Washington (UW) following the death of a primate under the school’s primate research center (WaNPRC).”
“UW has a history of reported animal negligence, with another USDA report in 2017 stating that among UW’s Washington National Primate Research Center’s 667 primates used in research, nearly 300 of them were subjected to pain or distress . . . Nine dogs, 168 rabbits, seven sheep and 174 pigs were also subjected to similar pain and distress, the report stated.” Full Story →
Clever Roosters Identify Themselves in the Mirror, Say Researchers
Amal Jos Chacko, 10/28/2023
“The ability to recognize oneself in a mirror, a key indicator of self-awareness, has long been considered exclusive to a select few, including great apes, dolphins, elephants, and magpies, besides humans. However, a new study . . . suggests that roosters, those often-underestimated denizens of the yard, may possess a similar level of self-awareness.” Full Story →
No Monkey Business – Recent FCPA Probe Into Wildlife Trafficking in Asia
Peter Spivack, Khushaal Ved, and Nigel Sharman, 11/1/2023
“An Indiana-based contract research organization for pharmaceutical testing is being investigated by the [SEC] for potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The inquiry into Inotiv Inc. follows prosecutions of individuals related to Inotiv’s main primate supplier for illegally imported macaques from Cambodia.”
“The probe focuses on Inotiv’s importation of primates from Asia from December 2017 to the present day . . . The macaques were allegedly illegally captured in the wild, but falsely labelled [sic] as captive-bred in permits….” Full Story →
One Size Fits All, from A(g) to V(iv)
Rise for Animals, 11/3/2023
From agriculture to vivisection, the animal use industry uses “aggressive, behind-the-scenes tactics to suppress science.” All these sub-industries, whose roots are fundamentally intertwined, follow the same playbook involving tactics like falsifying and skewing data, publishing only findings that can be spun to their benefit, formidable lobbying, and “silencing scientists who disagree”. Full Story →