February 3, 2012

Ten Ways to Help Animals in Labs

Every animal has a story.

A chimpanzee named Kitty is left to suffer for decades in a New Mexico laboratory as a "breeder," giving birth to as many as 14 baby chimpanzees for use in research.

Echo, a pet dog, is stolen from his backyard in Arkansas and sold by a Class B dealer to a research laboratory in Minnesota.

It's hard to believe that their stories are true, and yet Kitty and Echo represent just two of the millions of animals who are harmed by experiments or suffer in laboratories in the United States every year.

You can help. Take action with our list of ten ways to make a difference for animals in labs.

Top Ten Ways to Help

1. Urge more than 350 U.S. universities to prohibit severe suffering in animals at campus laboratories, then find out where your school stands.
» Take action
» Learn about protecting animals at universities from severe suffering

2. Contact your Members of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act, which would phase out harmful research on chimpanzees in laboratories and retire the approximately 500 federally owned chimpanzees to permanent sanctuary.
» Take action
» Learn about chimpanzees used in research 

3. Pledge to purchase only cosmetic, personal care, and household products that are not tested on animals.
» Take action 
» Learn how to be a more compassionate consumer 

4. Ask your Members of Congress to co-sponsor the Pet Safety and Protection Act, which would put Class B dealers out of business.
» Take action
» Learn about pets used in experiments

5. Urge your Member of Congress to co-sponsor the Battlefield Excellence through Superior Training (BEST) Practices Act, which would phase out the inhumane use of animals in military training exercises.
» Take action
» Learn about animals used in medical training 

6. Urge the U.S. government to support the revolutionary Human Toxicology Project and help make animal testing obsolete.
» Take action
» Learn about the Human Toxicology Project 

7. Thank the National Institutes of Health for postponing the transfer of 186 chimpanzees to a research laboratory and ask them to grant all 200 chimpanzees at the Alamogordo Primate Facility permanent retirement.
» Take action 
» Learn about chimpanzees used in research

8. Contact research facilities that purchase dogs and cats from Class B dealers and urge them to stop this cruel and outdated practice.
» Take action
» Learn about pets used in experiments

9. Urge the Environmental Protection Agency to make reduction of animal testing a priority.
» Take action
» Learn about animals used in government-sanctioned tests

10. Ask that the remaining 21 elderly chimpanzees at New Iberia Research Center be retired from research and sent to sanctuaries.
» Take action
» Learn about chimpanzees used in research

Even More Ways to Take Action

• Help wild monkeys caught in the island nation of Mauritius and shipped to U.S. research laboratories.
  » Take action 
  » Learn about animals used in biomedical research 


• Rescue nine chimps from life in a research laboratory—urge New Iberia Research Center to send a group of five adults and four infant chimpanzees (known as Group Megan) to a sanctuary rather than use them in potentially harmful research.
  » Take action
  » Learn about chimpanzees used in research


• Receive the latest news about animals used in research on your Facebook page.
  » "Like" The Humane Society of the United States
  » Join End Animal Suffering in Experiments at Universities 
  » Join STOP the use of Chimps in Research


• Use our interactive map to view the USDA reports of animal research facilities in your state at humanesociety.org/animalresearchmap.


• Donate to help animals held in laboratories and used in harmful experiemnts.
  » Take action
  » Learn about animals in laboratories


• Donate to the Chimps Deserve Better fund.
  » Take action
  » Learn about chimpanzees used in research


• Donate your time, resources or money to a chimpanzee sanctuary.
  » Take action
  » Learn about chimpanzees used in research


• If you work or have worked in a laboratory with chimpanzees and have witnessed their mistreatment, please call our confidential whistleblower tipline at 866-293-HSUS.


• If you are a scientist, health professional, or laboratory worker and are interested in helping us advance one or more of the issues we work on (e.g., sharing an experience you had in a laboratory, endorsing an effort or campaign, etc.), please contact us.


• Stay on top of the latest news and learn more about the issues affecting animals in laboratories at humanesociety.org/animalresearch.