AAVS News
October 27, 2023
Better protection for animals, plus GE chickens, alternatives, and BUILD IT! for chimps
Protection Needed for Animals
Support the Better CARE for Animals Act!
Millions of animals are needlessly suffering in labs, breeding facilities, roadside zoos, and other exploitive industries. Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is tasked with enforcing the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), one of the few federal laws dedicated to protecting these animals, it has repeatedly failed to do so. However, the Better Collaboration, Accountability, and Regulatory Enforcement (CARE) for Animals Act will help protect these animals by strengthening AWA enforcement.
The Better CARE for Animals Act would amend the AWA, allowing the USDA to collaborate with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which could then bring cases to the federal courts in a timely manner and ensure that violators are penalized for their crimes. The DOJ would also have the authority to revoke licenses, impose civil penalties, and seize animals from facilities where animal well-being is threatened.
Animals should not suffer because the USDA cannot properly do its job!
Please contact your legislators and urge them to support the Better Care for Animals Act, which would strengthen enforcement of the AWA by giving the DOJ the authority to take legal action to protect animals.
Other News
Scientists in the U.K. have genetically engineered a breed of chicken to be resistant to one strain of bird flu, a highly contagious disease that has already killed millions of birds worldwide, particularly on factory farms. But the scientists admit the genetic modification is not foolproof and could negatively affect the health of chickens in other ways. AAVS outlined these risks in “Animal Welfare for Sale: Genetic Engineering, Animal Welfare, Ethics, and Regulation,” which we’ve distributed to several federal agencies.
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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is planning a new program called Complement Animal Research in Experimentation (ARIE) to accelerate the development, standardization, validation, and use of non-animal alternatives in biomedical research. AAVS’s affiliate, the Alternatives Research & Development Foundation, has participated in the discussion about potential areas where the NIH might see the greatest benefit from using alternatives to animal models for disease and treatments.
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Sanctuary Moment
Project Chimps
This month Project Chimps celebrated 2,000 days of sanctuary for Leo! This is not just any milestone: passing 2,000 days means that Leo has now spent more of his life in a sanctuary than he spent in laboratories being used for research!
Leo was born in August 2006 at the New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) in Louisiana, the largest primate research facility in the world. At two years old, Leo was taken from the care of his mom and sent to Stony Brook University’s Department of Anatomical Science, where for five years he and his friend Hercules were kept isolated from other chimpanzees. Electrodes were embedded in Leo’s muscles, and he was forced to walk upright to study the origins of human bipedal locomotion.
Leo is now enjoying sanctuary life. But there are more chimpanzees at the NIRC waiting for sanctuary, and Project Chimps is expanding so that it can provide a home for them. AAVS’s BUILD IT! giving campaign is raising funds to help in this expansion, and every donation is being matched dollar for dollar! Your contribution will help ensure that more chimps can enjoy wholesome foods, stimulating environments, and, importantly, companionship with other chimpanzees. Will you help BUILD IT!?
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