Imagine recovering from abdominal surgery with little or no pain medication. If you were an animal in a laboratory, you wouldn’t need to imagine. Stressful laboratory environments and harmful experiments can make life miserable. As long as animals are being used in experimentation, we will work—with your help—to eliminate their pain and distress.
Shocking as it may seem, researchers are allowed to perform experiments that cause unrelieved pain and distress to animals. They can claim that providing relief would interfere with the scientific goals of their experiment. But their justifications are often questionable. The result is that millions of animals suffer in U.S. laboratories every year.
Yet much of that suffering could be prevented by using pain medications, euthanizing animals before their suffering becomes prolonged, training an animal to cooperate with a procedure, or simply choosing a less harmful way to perform an experiment. Until the day that animals are no longer used in research, it’s crucial that we work to eliminate all pain and distress from their daily lives.
You Can Help
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Check out our list of top ten ways to help animals in laboratories. TAKE ACTION »
News & Events
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March 12, 2013
The Humane Society Of The United States to Honor LUSH Cosmetics with Genesis Corporate Award
The HSUS will bestow the inaugural Genesis Corporate Award on the global cosmetics company LUSH for raising awareness of animal protection issues through its ongoing commitment to creating cruelty-free products and for strenuously campaigning for animal-free testing in Europe and around the world
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October 24, 2012
Meet Derek, a Baboon Used in Research
Derek was captured in Africa and shipped to a U.S. university.
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October 24, 2012
Meet Lilly, a Rhesus Macaque Used in Research
Lilly had four babies and underwent multiple experimental surgeries.
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October 24, 2012
Meet Ishan, a Rhesus Macaque Used in Research
Ishan spent his entire life in a campus laboratory.
Our Victories
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January 22, 2013
Expert Advisory Panel Confirms Chimpanzee Retirement from Laboratories to Sanctuary is the Way Forward
The HSUS commends the expert recommendations proposed to the National Institutes of Health by its independent advisory body, the Council of Councils, regarding chimpanzee research and retirement.
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January 9, 2013
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Praised for Commitment on Chimpanzee Research
The Humane Society of the United States applauds Gilead Sciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Foster City, Calif., for agreeing to not use chimpanzees for research and development.
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December 27, 2012
Wayne's Blog: Our Biggest Animal Stories of 2012
HSUS President and CEO Wayne Pacelle reveals The HSUS' list of top animal stories covered by the news media in 2012.
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December 20, 2012
HSI/Canada Celebrates Canadian Transportation Agency Decision Confirming Air Canada’s Right to Refuse Shipments of Primates for Research
Humane Society International/Canada, Animal Alliance of Canada and Justice for Animals welcome a ruling by the Canadian Transportation Agency, confirming the right of Air Canada to refuse the live shipment of primates destined for laboratories, where they would be for toxicity testing, research or other harmful laboratory experiments.





