By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Update March 21, 2024: The second package of federal funding bills was released today, and we were pleased to see that there is NO funding to expand primate testing infrastructure at the National Institutes of Health in this final bill! We thank everyone who reached out to their elected federal officials about this important issue.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
A company called “Safer Human Medicine” is proposing to build a monkey breeding warehouse in the small town of Bainbridge, Georgia. At full capacity, the proposed facility, at a significant cost to taxpayers, would be the largest in the U.S., holding up to 30,000 long-tailed macaques bred for experiments. Such a move would not make medicine safer and would only take science and progress for animals backward.
The results are in! Our final 2023 Humane Scorecard is now available, providing a snapshot of where federal legislators stood on our core priorities for the first session of the 118th Congress.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Inscribing the humane treatment of animals into our laws takes years, and so we are heartened by some key measures at the state level taking effect in 2024, which are the result of so much rallying and advocacy, and which will contribute to shaping the humane world we envision.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
The fight for public policy gains for animals at the federal level is not for the faint of heart nor the weak of spirit. Every day, in every congressional session, it’s an all-out battle to secure humane laws and regulations. Whatever we achieve, we achieve against determined opposition, including special interest groups with deep pockets, and 2023 was no exception. This was a banner year for rulemaking and key legislative work that made a difference.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering requiring companies to conduct new animal tests for several sunscreen ingredients that have been in use for decades. If this happens, companies would be forced either to test on animals or be limited to just two ingredients to produce sunscreen and products containing SPF (sun protection factor).
Each year, we use the Humane Scorecard to provide a snapshot of some key animal protection issues and this year is no different. There are many new members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate in the 118th Congress who need to see the importance of animals in our communities—and there’s still time.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
This week, we had the pleasure of gathering with beagles and lawmakers on Capitol Hill to show our support for a promising new bill that would usher in a new era of animal protection at the federal level in the U.S.