Unlocking the cage
Cosmetic Testing on Animals – When Will America See the Light?
In research conducted in the American Southwest between 2012 and 2015 on public and scientific perceptions about animal testing, I found that overwhelmingly, both laypersons and scientists had a disdain for the use of animals in cosmetic testing. To many, the torture and abuse of animals simply for humans to look, feel, and smell better, was simply an untenable concept. Conversely, the use of animals in testing biomedical products to save the lives of humans was seen as not only necessary but also noble – both for the animals who are sacrificed and for the scientists who devote their lives […] Read more »
Researching Pound Animals – Being sold to research labs?
We’ve all been to “the pound” before. It’s a heart-wrenching place for any animal lover. Rows of homeless, stray, and unwanted, but otherwise perfectly adoptable pets behind glass or cold metal bars. Sad and anxious eyes of dogs, cats, and pocket pets desperate for a warm, safe, and loving home where they can live out the rest of their years. While many find those forever homes, we know that many others never make it out alive, euthanized due to lack of space, illness, or just being unwanted. But some suffer an even worse fate than dying via euthanasia at the […] Read more »
Spinal cord injuries – a dog named Gil
“Treatment-induced recovery in a rodent model does not necessarily mean that primates and (human) individuals with spinal cord injuries will recover to a similar degree (or to any degree) given the same therapy” (Fouad et. al. 2013) Just over a month ago, a friend posted on her facebook page a video of a small, black dog dragging himself across a concrete floor in a makeshift veterinary facility. This little dog, named Gil, had been found by a family living in very remote, rural area in Arizona. Having no control or ability to move his hind legs, he somehow managed to […] Read more »
Should Animals be Used to Ensure Capital Punishment is Humane?
I had a completely different topic in mind when I sat down to write this post, but I could not stop thinking about an article in yesterday’s New York Times1 about the controversial use of fentanyl in the execution of a convicted murderer in Nebraska on Tuesday, August 14th. This is the first time fentanyl, a powerful drug playing a starring role in the current American opioid overdose epidemic in the US, has been used in an execution in the US. This article piqued my interest because of its repeated descriptions of the controversy surrounding the fact that the drug […] Read more »
Devil’s Advocate: The Case for Biomedical Testing
“Americans are living longer, healthier lives and we owe much of that success to biomedical research.” Dr Robert Palazzo, President of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) In my research on the use of animals in biomedical testing, I found that there were primarily three compelling reasons for its support. These include 1) the notion that animals and humans are physiologically and genetically similar to humans; 2) there is a need to understand how a drug impacts the entire system and not just one organ or bodily system; and 3) that it stops human suffering and/or […] Read more »
Drawing the Line: Biomedical vs Cosmetic Testing on Animals
What do you think of when you hear the words “animal testing”? When I asked this question to members of the general public in my research, often the responses included things like “bunnies having horrible things put in their eyes” or “the skin of rats or rabbits being used for chemical burn tests.” Not once did a study participant mention dogs being forced to run on a treadmill until they suffered a heart attack or monkeys with boxes implanted into their skulls strapped into chairs while they viewed tv screens and researchers monitored their neural pathways. My research shows that […] Read more »