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.
Take Action: Tell Congress Cold-Blooded Animals ARE Animals
Rise for Animals, 9/26/2024
A new bill — the Cold-blood Animal Research and Exhibition (CARE) Act (H.R. 9571) — aims to revise the Animal Welfare Act’s definition of “animal” to include cephalopods, fish, amphibians, and reptiles. This would bring at least tens of millions of human experimental subjects within the scope of federal protections, including the second most common laboratory victim: fish. 📰 Full Story →
⚠️ If you think 🐙 cephalopods, 🐠 fish, 🐸 amphibians, and 🐍 reptiles should have some protections under federal law take action now! Urge your Representatives to support the CARE Act.
New Online Resource Aims to Overcome Animal Experiment Bias in Biomedical Research
Trinity Sparke, 9/20/2024
“A new website has been launched by the Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias (COLAAB) to support researchers aiming to publish nonanimal biomedical research. This platform provides guidance and resources to help researchers navigate the challenges posed by peer reviewers who often favor animal-based research methods.”
“The push for this resource stems from a growing concern about bias in academic publishing . . . half of researchers surveyed reported being asked by reviewers to include animal experiments in their otherwise animal-free studies.”
“While long-term solutions will require an overhaul of the broader biomedical community, [Catharine E. Krebs, PhD, who leads COLAAB] emphasizes that researchers can take immediate action to improve their chances of publishing animal-free studies.” 📰 Full Story →
Rutgers Professor on Leave Following Accusations of Animal Abuse in Former Lab
Tina Kelley, 9/22/2024
“A professor was placed on leave – prohibiting him from conducting research or teaching – days after he started his new job at Rutgers University….”
“At his previous job at Florida State University, Zhang was conducting surgical experiments on digestion in laboratory mice, when two whistleblowing graduate students alleged animals had been mistreated . . . They also alleged the lab had been changing records to hide the mistreatment….”
“The students alleged Zhang’s lab provided only one of a recommended four doses of pain relief to mice” and “fail[ed] to sedate mice before they were euthanized by decapitation . . . The complaints against him involved operations on nearly 1,600 animals, and the alleged falsification of 110 records.” 📰 Full Story →
100% Self-Aware! These Fish Stun Scientists with Mirror Mastery
Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, 9/22/2024
“ . . . Japanese researchers have shown that [Bluestreak cleaner wrasse] really do recognize their reflection and that of others.”
“Bluestreak cleaner wrasse is a fish species originating in the Indo-Pacific region and the Red Sea. Last year, Kobayashi and his team showed evidence of cleaner wrasse identifying themselves in photographs of their faces through mirror self-recognition.”
“Building on the previous study, the researchers installed mirrors in some tanks and observed” that “the fish with mirrors developed a mental image of themselves and their size and used that knowledge to compare how they would ‘size up’ against other nearby fish.” 📰 Full Story →
Bumblebees Make the Same Memory Mistakes as Humans
Rodeilon Putol, 9/22/2024
“Episodic memory, the ability to recall specific events from the past, is a function associated with humans and other mammals. However, the bumblebees in this study demonstrated a surprising capacity for episodic-like memory.”
In the study, bumblebees “made [memory conjunction errors] at times”, which “closely mirror[] the types of memory mistakes humans make under similar conditions. So, it turns out we have a close competitor in episodic memory, and it happens to be the bumblebee.”
“ . . . bumblebees are not merely storing memories but actively reconstructing and recombining them, which can lead to errors . . . The findings suggest that bumblebees may possess a more complex memory system than previously believed, potentially redefining the boundaries of animal cognition.” 📰 Full Story →
U.S. Taxpayers Funded Chinese Labs that Carried Out Grisly Experiments on Beagle Puppies
Stephen Dinan, 9/25/2024
“The federal government has been paying Chinese labs that carry out animal testing, including experiments that involved severing beagle puppies’ spines, to study how they would react to a horrific injury.”
“Videos of some experiments . . . show beagles whose spines have been severed crawling on their front paws with their rears dragging across the ground, unable to move normally.” 📰 Full Story →
Full Interview: Company Over Bainbridge Monkey Facility Vows to Build
Lenah Allen, 9/26/2024
“In an exclusive interview with WALB, Safer Human Medicine (SHM), the company over the controversial Bainbridge monkey facility, vows that they will build the facility.”
“Allen: . . . ‘I just want to make sure I’m clear and I understand even the lawsuits happening locally with the nuisance suit, if that doesn’t come to a decision, even after the ruling comes down from the appellate court, you guys are able to move forward with the project as that lawsuit continues locally.’
[SHM:] ‘If we choose to. Yes, we could. The lawsuit would not stop us from proceeding.’” 📰 Full Story →
In case you missed it:
Liberated and Lobbying: “Lab Dogs” Shaping Political Change
Rise for Animals, 9/23/2024
National Dogs in Politics Day most explicitly celebrates U.S. presidents’ dogs, but we at Rise think that the occasion can — and, we would argue, should! — be used “to celebrate just about any canine involved in politics”. 📰 Full Story →