My Life in a Laboratory

Posted November 10, 2015 by Kim Johnson

Hi. My name is Rabbit 32*. I’m one of more than 170,000 rabbits who will be killed in U.S. laboratories this year for cruel experiments and product testing. Here in the laboratory, animals like me don’t get names, just numbers. That’s because the humans who experiment on us think of us as tools—not individuals with feelings. Experimenters like to use rabbits in their painful tests because we’re small, gentle, and easy to handle.

Outside the laboratory, many rabbits like me get to hang out with other animals and humans, but instead of hurting them, these humans pet their fur softly and give them treats and scratches on their ears. It makes me sad to think that I’ll never get to live in a warm house or snuggle with other rabbit friends or humans—or even know any kindness or affection at all from a human.

I’ve spent my whole life alone inside a cramped, empty metal cage, often for weeks or months at a time.

Testing

Experimenters poison me in order to see what happens when a high dose of a chemical is given to an animal. Many rabbits in the cages around me have died because of these excruciatingly painful tests. I’m scared and in pain, and I wish this would stop.

During another test, they put me in a restraining device so that I can’t move, then they force chemicals into my eyes, which burns them and hurts so much. They also scrape my skin and spread harsh chemicals onto it. The experimenters watch to see how long it takes for the chemicals to burn my eyes or my skin and to see the damage that they’ve caused. 

They leave the chemicals on me for up to two weeks and don’t give me any painkillers. I wish they would make it stop hurting, but instead, they just take notes as the substances burn me and I scream in pain.

During and after the tests, my skin sometimes bleeds and swells. Other times, my insides hurt, my eyes swell up, or scabs form on my back. My eyes are cloudy now, and they always hurt. Some of my friends have already gone blind because of the tests, and I’m afraid that I will, too.

After they finish torturing me, I’ll probably be killed without ever getting to have a single moment of happiness. I’ve seen experimenters cut up the bodies of other rabbits that they’ve killed, and I’m so scared. I don’t want to suffer anymore, and I don’t want to die. The products they test on me include things like soap, shampoo, household cleaners, and makeup—all of which can be safely made WITHOUT testing chemicals on me. 

The Law

There’s no law in the U.S. that says that these products need to be tested on animals like me. In fact, in some countries it’s ILLEGAL to test products on us. But lots of companies, like Johnson & Johnson, ChapStick, Revlon, and Secret, still perform or pay for horrible tests on animals. Chemical companies test on animals like me, too, even though there are many reliable, superior, non-animal test methods available.

Why Do These Tests?

There’s no reason to test a chemical on an animal. There are plenty of other tests out there that don’t hurt animals and are more reliable than animal tests. One test uses a model of human skin grown in test tubes, which is made from real human skin cells, so the results can better predict how a chemical will affect a human. Animal-test results usually can’t be applied to humans because we react to substances differently.

What You Can Do

Rabbits aren’t the only animals who are tested on in laboratories. Mice, rats, guinea pigs, and other animals are poisoned and killed in cruel product tests, and monkeys, cats, and dogs are also used and killed in other painful experiments in the U.S. every year. You can help end this suffering by buying cruelty-free products and avoiding any products that have been tested on animals like me. Will you help me and the millions of other animals who suffer every day in cruel and deadly tests?

Not sure how to tell if a product is cruelty-free? Look for the PETA bunny logo on the package, check PETA’s cruelty-free database, or e-mail peta2@peta2.com. You can also order a cruelty-free shopping guide.

*This is not the story of one specific rabbit in a laboratory. The facts in this feature are based on the experiences of many different rabbits used in laboratory tests.

Read more: http://www.peta2.com/blog/animal-testing-rabbits/#ixzz3rmU1mVfn

Where do animals from dissection come from?

Made by: Hannah Easley

Imagine being ripped away from your home, put in very small cages, and being killed for dissection. That's what happens when you used animals for dissection.
This happens to frogs, mice, rabbits, fetal pigs, cats, and more.
Let's look more into this.

Cats

  Cats are taken away from the streets, shelters, or even cats that could have been very loved by a family. 

Once they take them, they put them in a horribly small cage and are abused.

 PETA investigators documented cases in which animals were removed from gas chambers and injected with formaldehyde without first being checked for vital signs, a violation of the Animal Welfare Act. Formaldehyde is a severely irritating caustic substance that causes a painful death. Investigators’ video footage documents incidences in which cats and rats were struggling during injection and employees were spitting on them. 

 Rabbits

Reality for these rabbits used for dissection very painful, (like all of the poor animals used to dissection.)  One rabbit, still alive after being gassed, tried to crawl out of a wheelbarrow full of water and dead rabbits. Employees laughed as a coworker held the rabbit’s head underwater and pulled him out just as death seemed near, repeating the process again and again until, bored with the “game,” the employee held the animal’s head underwater long enough to drown him. Rabbits aren't toys.

   Frogs

Sadly, frogs are the most commonly dissected animals in classes below the university level, although other species, like cats, mice, rats, dogs, rabbits, fetal pigs, and fish, are also sometimes used. Frogs are also among the first species to succumb to environmental pollution and habitat destruction, and their deaths are often the first indicators of environmental problems because they’re so sensitive to their surroundings. 

All species of frogs are disappearing from the Earth at an alarming rate, with a devastating and not yet fully understood environmental impact. As a result, some frog populations have crashed, wiping out entire species. Populations of grass frogs and bullfrogs, the most common victims of high school dissection, are threatened by both mass collection and environmental hazards. Some are even performed on alive during dissection.

 Pigs

 Many students object to using fetal pigs because of their concern for the treatment of animals raised for human consumption. Almost all of the 97 million pigs slaughtered annually for human consumption in the United States are raised in crowded, confined conditions, where they are deprived of space, fresh air, and fresh forage for the duration of their shortened lives. 

Many also have their tails cut off and their teeth excised as piglets. The fetuses that end up in dissection trays are taken from pregnant sows at the slaughterhouse. Some biological supply houses breed animals such as mice,: obtain fetal pigs from slaughterhouses that cut them from their mothers' are killed: and trap or take other types of animals from a variety of locations.

 Mice

Mice, or other small animals used for dissection are nothing but dollar signs for breeders who kill them and sell their  corpses. Millions of animals are killed every year, in high schools alone, including the unknown number of animals used for college or middle school grades. Many mice, or rats are even embalmed. 

Alternatives to Dissection
Numerous studies have shown that students using humane alternatives learn as well, if not better, than students who dissect.

• Observation of animals in their natural habitat
• Anatomical models such as the “Great American Bullfrog” 
• Computer programs such as Visifrog and The Rat Stack
• CD-ROMS such as the Cat Dissection Library CD-ROM, Bio-Lab Invertebrate D-ROM, and the Biology Dissection CD-ROM
• Non-animal projects such as the Bio-Feedback Micro-lab
• Videotapes 
• Videodiscs 
• Charts
• Transparencies
• Slides 
• Books and manuals
• Online virtual dissection kits such as the Whole Frog Project.

The Expense
In the long run, dissection alternatives are less expensive than dissecting live animals. Unlike the former, alternatives such as CD ROMS can be used time and time again, therein permitting students to practice the techniques as many times as they need to truly learn the material. In addition, they are typically accompanied by a manual and do not require supplementary tools such as scalpels or dissections pans.

States that Have Dissection Choice Laws

States with informed student consent laws (K-12):

• California, 1988, Cal. Education Code Section 32255.1-32255.6
• Florida, 2003, Fla. Stat. ch. 233.0674 (2001) 1003.47
• Illinois, 2000, 105 ILCS 5/27-13.1
• New Jersey, 2005, 18A:35-4.24 and 18A:35-4.25
• New York, 1994, N.Y. Educ. Law Section 809
• Oregon, 2005, OR REV. STAT. § 337.300
• Pennsylvania, 1992, 24 P.S. § 15-1523
• Rhode Island, 1997, Gen.Laws 1956, § 16-22-20
• Vermont, 2008, 16 V.S.A. § 912
• Virginia, 2004, Va. Code Ann. § 22.1-200.01 (2004)

States with student choice policies:

• Maine, 1989 (State Dept. of Ed policy)
• Maryland, 1997 (majority of individual county policies)

States with legislation proposing student choice:

• Michigan, HB 4218
• Tennessee, HJR 1077

Read each state’s individual law.

Passing a Student Choice Policy
Ask your school to adopt a student dissection choice policy.

Ask your school district or state Department of Education to adopt a student dissection choice policy. More information

Read more: http://www.lcanimal.org/index.php/campaigns/other-issues/dissection

Maybe dissecting isn't that good after all.

Reasons Why Hunting Should Be Gone

Posted January 29, 2015 by Kim Johnson

Studies show that today, most hunters stalk and kill animals for the thrill of it, not out of necessity. Here are eight reasons why you should never support hunting:

1. Hunting causes pain and suffering.

This violent form of “entertainment” rips families apart and leaves countless animals orphaned or badly injured when hunters miss their targets. Quick kills are rare, and many animals endure prolonged, painful deaths when they’re hurt but not killed by hunters.

A study of 80 radio-collared white-tailed deer found that of the 22 deer who had been shot with “traditional archery equipment,” 11 were wounded but not recovered by hunters. A study also showed that 20 percent of foxes who are wounded by hunters are shot again, and a South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks biologist estimates that more than 3 million wounded ducks go unretrieved every year.

A British study of deer hunting found that 11 percent of deer killed by hunters die only after being shot two or more times and that some wounded deer suffer for more than 15 minutes before dying.

For animals such as wolves and geese, who mate for life and live in close family units, hunting can devastate entire communities. Could you imagine losing a family member?

2. It isn’t about conservation or population control.

In school, you might have learned about Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection, which explains that the sickest and weakest animals are the most likely to be killed by natural predators, leaving the strongest animals to survive and pass their genes on. Hunters, however, disrupt this natural balance because they prefer to kill the largest, strongest animals.

Even if overpopulation happened naturally to a group of animals, nature would work to regulate the population. Starvation and disease are tragic, but they are nature’s way of ensuring that the healthy, strong animals survive and maintain the strength of their herd.

Because hunting isn’t an effective method of controlling deer populations, some wildlife agencies use other methods to keep deer out of unwanted areas and reduce breeding. Repellents, deterrents, and strategically placed fencing can encourage deer to stay away from artificial and easy food sources, and when food sources are scarce, deer refrain from breeding and have fewer babies.

3. There are few regulations.

Most hunting occurs on private land, where laws that protect wildlife often don’t apply or are difficult to enforce. On private properties that are set up as for-profit hunting reserves or game ranches, hunters can pay to kill native and exotic species in “canned hunts.” These animals are hunted and killed for the sole purpose of providing hunters with a “trophy.”

4. It’s profit-driven.

Canned hunts are big business, but forty percent of hunters also kill and injure millions of animals on public land every year. Most federal and state agencies that manage wildlife refuges, national forests, state parks, and other public lands are partially funded by hunting and fishing activities, so agency employees often go out of their way to encourage hunting rather than regulating or policing it.

5. It claims other, nontarget victims.

Facebook

Hunters are not only injured by other hunters, but risk being attacked by animals, too. You might remember the story ofCamille Bomboy, an 18-year-old who was hunting deer and attacked by a bear.

Hunting accidents often injure or kill horses, cows, dogs, cats, hikers, and other hunters. According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, thousands of human injuries are attributed to hunting every year in the U.S. Hunters are at risk of being injured not only by other hunters but also by animals, who may see them as a threat and attack.

Dogs who are used for hunting also suffer. They’re often kept chained or penned and denied routine veterinary care such as vaccines and heartworm medication. Some are lost during hunts and never found, and others who are turned loose at the end of hunting season to fend for themselves often die of starvation or get struck by vehicles.

6. Violence against animals can lead to violence against humans.

Kip Kinkel killed his parents and opened fire in his school cafeteria, killing two and injuring 22 others. He had a history of animal abuse and torture, having boasted about killing animals.

Like other forms of casual or “thrill” violence, hunting leads to a dangerous desensitization to the suffering of others. Research in psychology and criminology shows that people who commit violent acts against animals rarely stop there, as many move on to target their fellow humans. A study conducted by Northeastern University and the Massachusetts SPCA found that people who abuse animals are five times more likely to commit violent crimes against humans. The majority of inmates who are scheduled to be executed for murder at California’s San Quentin State Prison “practiced” their crimes on animals, according to the warden.

7. It’s unnecessary.

October 2006 bear hunting | CowgirJules | CC by-NC-SA 2.0

Hunters have a choice. With all the delicious pastas, fruits, vegetables and grains that are cheaply available everywhere, there is no reason to kill animals to survive.

What You Can Do

No Hunting or Shooting | Seth Anderson | CC by-nc-sa 2.0

To combat hunting in your area, post “no hunting” signs on your land, join or form an anti-hunting organization, protest organized hunts, and spread deer repellent or human hair (from barber shops) near hunting areas.

Read more: http://www.peta2.com/blog/hunting-facts/#ixzz3iYDulv9M

6 Newly Confirmed Cruelty-Free Companies

Posted June 3, 2015 by Hannah Healy

The European Union has banned the sale of any cosmetics that have been tested on animals or whose ingredients have been tested on animals, and NO federal law requires that cosmetics companies test on animals in America. In spite of this, many U.S. companies CHOOSE to continue tests on animals! There are dozens of tests in use today that are faster and more accurate at predicting human reactions to a product than the old animal tests EVER were. The continued needless torture of rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, and other animals is nothing short of appalling.

Here’s the good news: More and more companies are seeing the light! Kendo Brands has joined PETA’s Beauty Without Bunnies program! As part of its membership in our program and inclusion on our cruelty-free list, Kendo Brands has signed a statement that it will NEVER conduct, commission, or pay for tests on animals for its ingredients, formulations, or products anywhere in the world. This ALSO means that Kendo is putting animals ahead of profits by refusing to sell any products in China until the country lifts its requirement that cosmetics be tested on animals. Meet the six beauty companies it owns whose products are now SAFE for animal lovers to buy:

1. Kat Von D Beauty

Kat Von D Beauty

2. Bite Beauty

Bite Beauty

3. Ole Henriksen

Ole Henriksen

4. Elizabeth and James Nirvana

Elizabeth and James Nirvana

5. Formula X

Formula X

6. Marc Jacobs Beauty

Marc Jacobs Beauty

Cruelty-free items can be found anywhere!

Read more: http://www.peta2.com/blog/kat-von-d-beauty-cruelty-free/#ixzz3fMLxojYb