Jim Newman: PETA campaign ‘shameful and dangerous’
PETA’s campaigns targeting individual scientists are both shameful and dangerous. Imagine opening the paper one day to see a full-page ad that targets you personally by name. Now imagine spotting that ad after months and months of harassment by a well-funded group, a campaign that has resulted in hate mail, threats and naturally, safety concerns. Read more.
FDA no longer requires animal testing for new drugs. Is that safe?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) no longer requires new drugs to be tested in animals before being approved. Thanks to a law passed in December 2022, the agency now has the option to approve drugs that are tested in only non-animal studies, including those that use lab-grown tissues or computer models, before being tested in clinical trials with humans. Read more.
Jim Newman: PETA campaign ‘shameful and dangerous’
PETA’s campaigns targeting individual scientists are both shameful and dangerous. Imagine opening the paper one day to see a full-page ad that targets you personally by name. Now imagine spotting that ad after months and months of harassment by a well-funded group, a campaign that has resulted in hate mail, threats and naturally, safety concerns. Read more.
FDA no longer needs to require animal tests before human drug trials
New medicines need not be tested in animals to receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, according to legislation signed by President Joe Biden in late December 2022. The change—long sought by animal welfare organizations—could signal a major shift away from animal use after more than 80 years of drug safety regulation. Read more.
NIH can’t deny former research chimps sanctuary retirement, federal judge rules
A U.S. federal judge has ruled against the nation’s largest biomedical agency in a long-running battle over the fate of dozens of former research chimpanzees. On Tuesday, a Maryland court declared that the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) violated federal law by not moving the animals out of biomedical facilities to a government sanctuary. The ruling could force the agency to transfer the great apes, though the details remain to be worked out. Read more.
Letter to the Editor: Animal Studies Remain Critically Important”
Contrary to the numerous claims made by Evelyn Wagaman of PETA, animal studies remain critically important when it comes to saving human and animal lives and improving the health of a wide variety of species. Read more.
What is ethical animal research? A scientist and veterinarian explain
A proposed measure in Switzerland would have made that country the first to ban medical and scientific experimentation on animals. It failed to pass in February 2022, with only 21% of voters in favor. Yet globally, including in the United States, there is concern about whether animal research is ethical. Read more.
Letter to the editor: Animal studies are important for medicine
In the current political climate, it’s reckless for organizations like White Coat Waste Project to accuse America’s world-renowned researchers of conducting “cruel” and “wasteful” research (“Letter to the editor: Pingree to be commended for support of lab animal bill,” Nov. 17).
Why would a political organization make such a dangerous claim? Because it remains opposed to ethical and necessary research that involves animals.
Animal studies have resulted in a long list of Nobel prize-winning breakthroughs, such as cancer immunotherapy, which has saved countless lives, and the development of MRI imaging. Our most powerful COVID-19 vaccines – which rely on an entirely new vaccine platform – involved animal research as well. The list goes on and on.
We should be giving America’s research community a standing ovation, not attacking it.
Paula Clifford
Executive director, Americans for Medical Progress
Washington, D.C.
Indictment of monkey importers could disrupt U.S. drug and vaccine research
The indictment of several members of an alleged international monkey smuggling ring is sending ripples through the U.S. biomedical community. Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged two Cambodian wildlife officials and several members of a Hong Kong-based primate supply company with illegally exporting hundreds—and potentially more than 2000— cynomolgus macaques, an endangered species, to the United States for research. The animals were reportedly captured from the wild in Cambodia and falsely labeled as captive-bred. Read more.
How to Report on Animal Research Fairly and Transparently
Almost everything we know about biology we’ve learned from observing animals as biological systems. We keep them in cages, study their behavior, and, in many cases, analyze their tissues after they die. But animal research is a fraught topic within the scientific community and in the public sphere. Read more.