Animal Testing and Vivisection
Trauma Training in North Dakota Goes Forward
Published April 29, 2009 @ 01:02PM PT
Although PCRM fought hard, and thousands of people contacted North Dakota State University to voice their opposition to the cruel and unnecessary use of pigs in the NDSU/MeritCare trauma training course, four pigs were indeed used and killed yesterday. This campaign didn't meet with success, but we should remember that other similar campaigns have--and will. And we can also hope (and insist) that this will be the last time North Dakota and MeritCare use live animals. PCRM is now petitioning the school's provost and vice president to prevent all future use of pigs. Please go here to join that effort: Save Pigs from Future Trauma Training Courses in North Dakota. And you can find other PCRM petitions aimed at stopping live animal labs here.
Continue to Speak Up for Pigs in North Dakota
Published April 27, 2009 @ 11:15AM PT
Since late Thursday night, and as of this writing, about 270 beautiful people have signed the petition on this site (in addition to all the people who have sent a message directly via PCRM) asking North Dakota State University to cancel the use and killing of pigs in a trauma training course today--and in the future. I checked in with someone at Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine this morning to see where things stand, and although there's no indication yet that the training has been canceled, it's possible that the pigs won't be used until tomorrow. So keep e-mailing--that is, signing the petition--and (politely) calling today. It's worth a shot.
Your Turn: Why Unnecessary, Cruel Research Happens
Published April 25, 2009 @ 04:36PM PT
Absolutely unnecessary, painful, inhumane research and testing on animals happens every day, for personal gain (e.g., grant money) for the researchers. Reader, Change.org community member, and animal advocate Jen left the following comment about her experiences working alongside animal researchers on the post "Former Vivisector Speaks Out about Cruelty and Bad Science." She graciously has given me permission to share the comment with all of you. Read on for her insights into one of the reasons scientists perform unnecessary research, into how haphazardly the research is done, and into how little concern is present for the animals (in this case, rats).
I currently work in the psychology department at [a university], and although I work in a lab that deals with human subjects, a couple people got dumped in our lab this year when their supervisor quit, and these people do animal research. Thanks to these people, I've seen just how callous animal experimentation is even when it claims to be "humane."
-Continue after the jump-
Urgent Action Needed! Stop Live Pig Lab
Published April 23, 2009 @ 08:52PM PT
This coming Monday, April 27, an unknown (to me) number of pigs are set to be injured and then killed in a trauma training course at North Dakota State University, in cooperation with MeritCare Hospital, reports the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). You have my apologies that I somehow missed this action alert before now, but you do have a few days still to urge the university to abandon its cruel use of live animals in favor of humane (and superior) tools such as TraumaMan, in this training and in all future training.
PCRM has been working without pause to end, one by one, the remaining programs that still use and kill pigs, dogs, and other animals for trauma training and medical student education, and they've had success (e.g., you may recall the post on March 1announcing the end of dog labs at the University of Michigan). Let's hope this can be another success.
Sign the Change.org petition (with letter provided) here. Also see PCRM's campaign page for more.
Former Vivisector Speaks Out about Cruelty and Bad Science
Published April 23, 2009 @ 07:04AM PT
A couple days ago, I received a message from someone named Tony Carr, telling me, in part, "I used to perform animal research - my background is in behavioral neuroscience. I was recently working in a lab studying rat models of drug abuse when I realized that animal research was a waste of time, money, and life. Then I quit."
And yesterday, an article covering Carr's story--and what he witnessed during even his brief time in a lab of the notorious Oregon Health & Science University as an assistant--in a Portland paper.
-Please continue after the jump-
Cruelty-Free Shopping: Take the Leap
Published April 21, 2009 @ 10:41AM PT
I wouldn't normally direct you to two videos in one day, but this new video from the American Anti-Vivisection Society, released in conjunction with World Week for Animals in Laboratories, warrants sharing. How many animals are being tortured for your body-care products, cosmetics, household cleaners, and other products every day? And when the number and availability of just-as-good and better products not tested on animals is ever-increasing, how can anyone justify still using the products for which countless animals were tortured and killed?
Everything from your shampoo to your dusting spray to your sweetener might have been tested on animals. Tell companies you're not OK with that by purchasing only products that weren't tested on animals and that include no animal ingredients. Check labels, do research, and take a stand with your purchases. See the video below (it is not at all graphic--no images of actual animals or experiments).
More on World Week for Animals in Laboratories tomorrow.
Another Medical School Ends Its Training on and Killing of Pigs
Published March 19, 2009 @ 12:14PM PT
First BOCA and now Albany Medical Center--today's not a bad day for animal rights campaigns! The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has been working hard, one school and program at a time, to end the use of dogs, pigs, and other animals in trauma training courses and other medical education. Earlier this month, their campaign aimed at the University of Michigan succeeded in ending that school's dog lab, for example. And today PCRM reports another success and provides info on the next school on the list:
In November we asked you to help end the cruel and unnecessary use of live pigs in Albany Medical Center’s trauma training course. More than 4,000 of you took action—and the medical center listened! Yesterday, Albany Medical Center informed PCRM that it will use only simulators in its Advanced Trauma Life Support course. This means that every trauma training course in New York state is now animal-free!
Your hard work helped end animal suffering and improve medical education in New York. Now we need your help to do the same thing in North Dakota. While more than 90 percent of United States and Canadian facilities no longer use animals for Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) training, MeritCare Medical Center in Fargo continues to use live pigs for its course, despite the availability of nonanimal alternatives like the TraumaMan System from Simulab. The hospital’s next ATLS course is scheduled for April 27.
Visit PCRM's action page for more information about how to make your voice heard in North Dakota.
