James Cromwell Calls Out Government-Funded Experiments on Animals
PETA Honorary Director James Cromwell urged the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) at its May 30 advisory council meeting to stop killing animals in cruel and pointless experiments.
Speaking directly to agency leadership, the Emmy-winning actor pled for the agency to “stop wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on irrelevant experiments on animals.”
Cromwell also hand-delivered PETA’s petition, signed by more than 50,000 supporters, and a letter from nearly 400 physicians, scientists, and mental health professionals urging the agency to stop funding ineffective animal experiments and instead invest in superior, animal-free research.
“There are millions of people in the U.S. suffering with mental illness right now who need the NIMH to help them, not continue to waste precious resources on experiments that will not translate to humans. This is irresponsible. It is in direct conflict with the NIMH’s mission to pave the way for prevention, recovery, and cures.”
– James Cromwell
Cromwell to NIMH: “We need you to do better.”
The National Institute of Mental Health has received more than $16 billion in taxpayer dollars in the last decade. Instead of finding treatments for struggling patients, they’ve bankrolled numerous gruesome experiments on animals that have little-to-no relevance to human health.
“Deliberately brain-damaging monkeys, forcing mice to fight each other, and sleep-depriving newborn prairie voles has not led to treatments. The NIMH also continues to fund projects that use the discredited forced swim test, where small animals are nearly drowned in inescapable beakers of water to study human depression. What sense does this make?!”
– James Cromwell
It doesn’t need to be this way. Scientists across the country are using modern, animal-free technology to learn about the human brain, its afflictions, and how to treat them — all without causing sensitive animals pain or suffering.
NIMH should lead the way.
What You Can Do
If you’re in the U.S., please TAKE ACTION by supporting PETA’s Research Modernization Deal, which outlines a comprehensive strategy for replacing all experiments on animals with more effective, human-relevant, non-animal methods.
And everyone can take action for animals by urging the National Institutes of Health to stop torturing monkeys in its laboratories.
