5 Shocking Things You Didn’t Know About Animal Testing
You might already know that millions of animals are still being used in cruel and archaic experiments each year, but the following are some shocking truths you might not know:
1. Mice and rats are the most used animals in experiments but the least protected.
Mice and rats make up the majority of all animals used in experimentation but are excluded from most laws aimed at protecting animals used in laboratories. In labs all over Asia, millions of these highly social and intelligent animals are abused in toxicology tests, painful burn experiments, and psychological experiments. Like dogs and cats, rats and mice feel pain, and studies show that they would risk their lives to save each other.
Want to help these gentle creatures? Sign the pledge.
2. Air France is the last major airline in the world to ship primates to deadly labs.
Air France continues to ship monkeys to laboratories, despite the fact that every other major airline in the world has stopped sending primates on these horrific one-way flights! Many monkeys are snatched from the wild and stolen from their families. They’re crammed into tiny wooden crates in the plane cargo holds and shipped on long, terrifying journeys to these deadly destinations, where they’re imprisoned and tortured in experiments.
Take action for monkeys: Tell Air France to stop shipping primates to deadly labs.
3. ‘Beauty’ company Revlon has an ugly secret to hide.
For over two decades, Revlon was among the largest mainstream international companies on PETA U.S.’ list of cruelty-free companies. But Revlon markets its products in China, where the government requires tests on animals before imported products can be sold in the country. When asked about how the Chinese government’s animal testing requirements have affected the company’s cruelty-free policy, Revlon has refused to comment.
It’s time to come clean: Urge Revlon to own up to its animal testing in China.
4. Monkeys used for tests are factory-farmed and left to die on cruel breeding farms.
Throughout Southeast Asia, there are barren farms that breed monkeys just to be used in torturous experiments. The Philippines is one the world’s largest exporters of monkeys to labs. These farms are usually barren concrete enclosures, where thousands of monkeys are kept and often denied even the most basic care. An investigation into a Laos monkey farm found emaciated monkeys confined to barren cages, where dead monkeys were left to rot, monkeys with injuries fought each other because of crowded conditions, and monkeys were driven insane from confinement.
They need your help: Tell Laos to close down these cruel monkey farms.
5. Animal testing is bad science.
Not only is animal testing wrong, it also doesn’t make any sense. Because of their radically different biological makeup, animals don’t suffer from diseases or react to substances in the same ways that people do. Most experiments on animals aren’t relevant to human health and don’t contribute meaningfully to medical advances. Many are undertaken simply out of curiosity and don’t even pretend to hold forth the promise of curing illnesses.
There are humane non-animal methods that are more reliable, more effective, and less expensive and time-consuming and that aren’t hindered by species differences.
