http://www.vivisectioninfo.org/
The Truth about Vivisection

Every year, tens of millions of animals are dissected, infected, injected, gassed, burned and blinded in hidden laboratories on college campuses and research facilities throughout the U.S. Still more animals are used to test the safety of cosmetics, household cleansers and other consumer products. These innocent primates, dogs, cats, rabbits, rodents and other animals are used against their will as research subjects in experiments and procedures that would be considered sadistically cruel were they not conducted in the name of science.

Researchers claim that they must be allowed unfettered access to animals for experiments in order to find cures for human diseases, yet they refuse to address the serious ethical problems of torturing sentient creatures for research purposes. On top of that, over-reliance on animal experimentation has historically hindered scientific advancement and endangered human safety because results from animal research typically cannot be applied to humans. In fact, scientists could save more human lives by using humane non-animal research and testing methods that are more accurate and efficient.

For these reasons, IDA has been fighting to end the needless torture and death of animals and advance human medicine since 1983. Here are some of the major campaign victories we have achieved for animals in that time.

Eleven "CU-34" Monkeys Transferred to Sanctuary
For years, the Committee for Research Accountability, a project of IDA, fought to secure the release of 34 monkeys from the University of Colorado at Denver Health Sciences Center (UCDHSC). These monkeys, who had lived at UCDHSC their entire lives, were the subjects of cruel alcoholism and maternal separation studies conducted by researcher Mark Laudenslager. In September 2006, the University of Colorado Regents finally voted to relocate 11 of these monkeys from a 100 year old basement to a sanctuary in Texas where they will be able to experience freedom from abuse for the first time in their lives.

USDA Charges UCSF for Animal Welfare Act Violations
In 2005, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) charged the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) with 89 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The USDA's action followed years of protests by IDA and other Bay Area groups to expose the cruelty secretly taking place behind the walls of UCSF's laboratories. Instead of defending themselves in court and revealing their mistreatment of animals to public scrutiny, UCSF chose to pay a $92,500 fine, one of the largest ever levied against a research institution by the USDA.

Criminal Charges Brought Against Alamogordo Primate Facility
For the first time in U.S. history, a New Mexico District Attorney brought criminal charges for animal cruelty against a research facility for alleged institutional neglect of chimpanzees. The unprecedented complaint against Alamogordo Primate Facility (APF) was prompted by evidence provided by IDA through our network of whistleblowers concerning the deaths of two chimpanzees and the near-death of another. While a conviction was not handed down to those responsible for managing APF's labs, the historic charges remain a searing indictment of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which bears the ultimate responsibility for these chimpanzees' welfare.

Coulston Foundation Forced Out of Business
At one time, the Coulston Foundation had possession of an astonishing 650 chimpanzees-almost half the population of chimpanzees used for research in the United States. Frederick Coulston was flush with millions in federal funding, as well as contracts with pharmaceutical, chemical and medical device companies, and was pursuing plans to become the sole source of chimpanzees for research in the country. Yet thanks to a nearly decade-long campaign by IDA fueled by our network of courageous whistleblowers, the cruelty taking place in Coulston's facilities was exposed and he was bankrupted-his lab closed, his reputation utterly ruined and the chimps sent to a sanctuary.

For more information contact In Defense of Animals.

3010 Kerner Blvd
San Rafael, CA 94901
idainfo@idausa.org
(415) 388 9641