The Facts About Animal
Experiments
Animal experimentation is a scandal that has been
hidden from the American public. We have been lead to believe that the
animals used in experiments are well treated and that the procedures
performed on these animals are thoroughly regulated and governed by
federal laws. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Over 90% of the animals used in experimentation are
purposely excluded from protection under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA --
the only federal law that governs animal experimentation). Rats, mice,
birds, and many other species have been expressly eliminated from all
safeguards. Violations of the Animal Welfare Act by labs have increased
by over 90% in the last five years.
The AWA places no real restrictions on what can be
done to an animal during an experiment. Animals are routinely subjected
to addictive drugs, electric shock, food & water deprivation, isolation,
severe confinement, caustic chemicals, burning, blinding, chemical and
biological weapons, radiation, etc. The "scientist" in question only
has to say that a specific procedure is "necessary" for the experiment,
and it is allowed. The goal is not to protect the animal; the goal is to
insure that the experiment proceeds -- at any cost.
The National Death Toll
Recent (fiscal 2005) United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) statistics list a total of 1,177,566 (a one-year
increase of 7%) primates, dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters,
and other species as being subjected to experimental procedures. The
species by species listings include:
66,610 dogs
57,531 primates
58,598 pigs
245,786 rabbits
22,921 cats
176,988 hamsters
64,146 other farm animals
32,260 sheep
231,440 other animals
221,286 guinea pigs
However, this total is likely far from accurate. At no
time have all laboratories in the U.S. reported their experimental
totals. The total of non-reporting facilities has varied from 22 to 128
(out of approximately 1100). The species that are not covered by the
Animal Welfare Act (rats, mice, etc.) are not even counted. Therefore,
the total above ignores the majority of animals experimented upon in the
U.S. The real number of animals experimented on in the U.S. each year
is well over 20 million. Additionally, these statistics do not cover
animals that are caged in laboratories but are being held for
conditioning or breeding. For example, while the USDA reports the use of
over 57,000 primates in labs, the actual total is probably more like
120,000.
Where Does the Money Come From?
Many federal agencies fund animal experiments
including: the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services (SAMHSA), Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), Agency for Health Care Research
and Quality (AHRQ), and Office of Assistant Secretary of Health (OASH).
During fiscal 2005 these seven agencies within the
federal government funded over 28,937 projects involving experimentation
on more than 27 different species including: macaque monkeys, squirrel
monkeys, rats, mice, dogs, hamsters, guinea pigs, and cats. Use of these
species in federally funded projects has increased 59% in the last ten
years. Government-funded experiments in these species cost U.S.
taxpayers over $12 billion annually.
Government Waste
How does the federal government manage to spend so
much money on animal experiments? Simple, it pays for the same
experiment to be done over and over and over again. There are
currently (for fiscal 2005) 1200 separate projects (costing a potential
$495,600,000 per year) that examine drug addiction. 778 projects study
neural information processing in 11 species costing an estimated
$321,314,000. The list goes on and on and on. Even if this
experimentation was worthwhile, why must we pay for it to be done over
and over and over again? Who wants this duplication to continue? The
table below contains estimates of federal funding for animal experiments
at many well-known colleges and universities.
Simple (again), hundreds of institutions and thousands
of individuals make money from these experiments. Look at the table of
approximations below for some examples. The bottom line is that the
federal government currently supports an industry that squanders
billions of dollars, kills tens of millions of animals, and is
essentially unregulated. No experiment, no matter how painful, is
illegal. The majority of animals used in experimentation receive
absolutely no protection under current laws.
University of CA, San Francisco $203,196,000
University of CA, Los Angeles $194,110,000
Harvard $441,273,869
Johns Hopkins University $256,886,000
Yale $199,066,000
Stanford $164,374,000
Vanderbilt $170,982,000
Emory University $239,303,364
Duke University $162,309,000
Baylor $173,047,000
University of Pennsylvania $256,060,000
University of Wisconsin, Madison $141,655,452
University of Washington, Seattle $418,889,748
University of Michigan $216,825,000
What YOU can do to Fight Animal
Experimentation:
1. Read, copy, and distribute this fact sheet.
2. Contact your Senators and Representatives to ask
for these things:
A. Extend the protection of law to all species that
are the victims of experimentation.
B. Extend the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act to
prohibit:
1. The use of electric shock
2. Food and water deprivation
3. The use of extreme confinement, such as the primate restraint chair
The Honorable ____________
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
202-224-3121
www.house.gov
Senator ____________________
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
202-224-3121
www.senate.gov
3. Organize public events to expose abuses at
facilities in your area. Use the Stop Animal Exploitation NOW!
(SAEN) website: www.saenonline.org
to investigate labs in your area. Contact SAEN for help with
investigations or for event planning.
4. Write to your federal legislators to request a
General Accounting Office (GAO) investigation of National Institutes of
Health (NIH) funded animal experimentation.
5. Send as large a tax-deductible donation as you
can afford to Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! (SAEN) to support this
campaign.
Send contributions to:
SAEN
1081-B St. Rt. 28 PMB 280
Milford, OH 45150
513-575-5517
www.saenonline.org
