Ford Funded Crash Test on Pigs in Violation of Animal Test Ban, PETA Finds

For Immediate Release:
October 7, 2021

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

PETA has uncovered evidence that Ford Motor Company paid to have pigs killed and used in crash tests—in violation of its 2009 ban on animal use in experiments. A Wayne State University study, funded at least in part by Ford, details how the 27 pigs were killed, hung by wires through their spine, and crashed into by a heavy swinging pendulum. PETA is demanding that Ford commit to and honor its policy banning animal experiments.

In this horrific Ford-funded experiment, pigs were killed and their bodies subjected to injuries produced by a high-impact pendulum. A pig’s anatomy is very different from that of humans, so the data obtained from this animal experiment aren’t applicable to human car-crash victims.

“Whether Ford had its own employees conduct these barbaric tests or simply contracted and paid for them makes no difference to the pigs who died needlessly,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “If Ford walks back its commitment to conducting humane, animal-free research, it should expect a consumer lawsuit from PETA and outrage from the public.”

Ford’s 2009 ban on funding and conducting crash tests on animals was enacted in response to a campaign by PETA. At the time, then–Ford Manager of Sustainable Business Development David Berdish stated, “Ford Motor Company does not directly conduct or fund development of products that involve live animal testing …. Our goal continues to be a leader in ethical business practices and to differentiate the Company on its commitment to understand social issues including the use of animals in research.”

Pigs’ anatomy differs from that of humans and pigs cannot sit up naturally in car seats, so the data obtained from these experiments do not apply to human car-crash victims. Most automakers use superior, human-relevant methods, such as clinical studies, advanced computer modeling, three-dimensional medical imaging, and sophisticated manikins.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.