PETITION TARGET: Federal Legislators
Kittens had their skulls drilled open and electrodes implanted in their brains before they were killed in research in Minnesota funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) — even though there was no reason they couldn’t have gone to adoptive homes.
Sadly, they are among an estimated more than 200,000 cats, rabbits, and dogs who could make amazing companion animals but who instead are cruelly killed in U.S. experiments every single year.
It’s time for the senseless death toll to stop.
The Companion Animal Release from Experiments Act, also known as the CARE Act or HR 2878, would require researchers who receive federal funding from the NIH to design and implement adoption policies so that animals exploited in research can retire to loving homes, rather than be killed. The federal bill also would require facilities to keep better animal care records to ensure transparency in what the animals are enduring during experiments.
The bill notes that researchers should — at this point in human history — be prioritizing research that avoids the use of animals, noting that animals are sentient beings who are likely to feel fear, distress, and pain in experiments. But barring that, animals in research deserve a second chance to find loving homes, said bill sponsor Rep. Tony Cárdenas.
Fifteen states — California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia and Washington — already have state laws that require adoption as an option for animals used in research.
It’s time to make adoption for animals used in research into a nationwide priority. The bill, which has bipartisan support and 13 cosponsors, currently is in the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health — and we must ensure that leadership doesn’t let it die.
Sign our petition urging legislators to prioritize the passage of this bill, which would give thousands of animals forced to endure cruel research the second chances in loving homes that they deserve!
