PETITION TARGETS: Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, Sen. Doug Mastriano
Dogs with their hearts, lungs, and kidneys deliberately damaged and cats with intentionally injured spinal cords forced to walk on treadmills — those were some of the cruel experiments on animals that were supported by taxpayers in Pennsylvania.
An investigation by nonprofit White Coat Waste Project found that about 4,000 dogs and cats endured painful procedures — including those in which they were denied painkillers — and that taxpayers were the ones helping foot the bill.
Now, taxpayers can support a different kind of bill — one that would prohibit tax dollars from funding painful experiments on dogs and cats or from surgically silencing dogs and cats so they can’t cry out from the pain.
SB 658, sponsored by Sen. Doug Mastriano, would also require laboratories to adopt out healthy dogs and cats at experiments’ ends rather than tragically kill them — which is the current default.
The bill also would require labs experimenting on dogs and cats to publicly disclose the degree of taxpayer funding and for the Pennsylvania Treasury to issue an annual report on taxpayer funding for experiments on dogs and cats.
Already, 15 states — including nearby Maryland and New York — have laws that allow animals used in cruel tests to be retired and rehomed. Meanwhile, the passage of the FDA Modernization Act — which nixed an outdated mandate to test on animals — shows that there needs to be a more compassionate way forward.
No animal should ever have to endure the pain and suffering inflicted intentionally in labs. It’s time for Pennsylvania legislators to do the right thing by denouncing animal testing and demanding human biology-based alternatives that will help both animals and people.
The bill currently is in the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.
Sign our petition urging PA legislators to support SB 658 for a safer and more compassionate world for people and animals alike!
