Eight representatives signed the Bipartisan Letter of Advocacy for Elimination of Animal Experiments
For immediate release:
February 11, 2022
Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382
Washington – Answer. Nancy Macea Republican representing South Carolina’s first Congressional District, and Answer. Ted Lieua Democrat representing California’s 33rd congressional district, sent a letter signed by eight members of Congress with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Acting Director Dr. Lawrence Tabak urges the phasing out of costly and ineffective animal experiments. Citing NIH statistics that 95% of new drugs fail in human trialsbipartisan proposal that the agency immediately do the following:
- Eliminate funding for animal experiments that we know are not transferable to humans
- Identify all other areas where animal experiments routinely fail and end funding for them
- Prioritize funding for state-of-the-art, human-relevant research
“As an animal lover and animal rights advocate, I am deeply saddened to see the NIH continue to fund cruel and ineffective animal studies,” said Mace. “Animal experiments led by the NIH have not resulted in treatments, vaccines or cures for human disease. The NIH should focus on modernizing research that benefits humans and work to phase out these ineffective and callous experiments on animals.”
“Since I came to Congress, my priority has been to reduce the unnecessary suffering of animals caused by costly and inefficient animal experiments,” said Lieu. “I am pleased to join Representative Mace in calling the NIH to phase out animal experiments that often fail to lead to treatments, vaccines and cures for human diseases. Last year, we saw the European Parliament act to modernize scientific innovation without using animals in research and testing. The time has come for us to do the same. I am honored to be part of this bipartisan effort to protect innocent animals from needless suffering and look forward to a response from the NIH.”
In addition to Mace and Lieu, the following members of Congress signed the letter: Delegates Bill Posey, Joe Neguse, Dina Titus, Brendan Boyle, Darren Soto, and Jerry McNerney.
The NIH spent about 19.6 billion dollars animal studies last year — almost half of the annual budget — even as other countries are adopting humane research methods. The joint letter indicates that although The European Parliament recently passed a resolution calling on the European Commission to draw up an action plan to end all animal experiments.America has no such plan. The European Parliament’s move comes after consideration by members Modernization Agreement Study.
“PETA is grateful to these representatives for their critical leadership on this issue,” said PETA neuroscientist and Head of Science Advances and Access, Dr. Katherine Roe. “The NIH now has a clear message from Congress that if the United States wants to be the world leader in biomedical research and get the medical advancements Americans desperately need, it needs to avoid away from outdated models and apply modern, human-appropriate research methods. PETA scientists stand ready to support this transition. ”
PETA — in part, their motto that “animals are not our thing to experiment with” — advocates speciesism, a human worldview – supremacy. For more information on PETA’s news collection and investigative reporting, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebookor Instagram.
