These Rescued Rat Sisters—Bred for Experiments—Now Enjoy the Good Life
Peggy, Siri, and Sarah are three sisters with a harrowing story. They were born at the Cleveland Clinic, a research facility funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where experimenters perform painful, invasive experiments on animals. Luckily for them, a PETA investigator came to their rescue.
Now, these three rescued rat sisters are enjoying life!
They’re living in a comfortable home with a loving guardian who appreciates their unique personalities.
Some of their favorite activities include burrowing, climbing, building nests, playing, exploring, snacking on fresh fruits and veggies, being tickled, climbing all over their guardian, and napping inside her hoodie.
Siri loves being tickled. She’s very playful and inquisitive.
Sarah is the nurturer. While her sisters are out swinging on toys, she can often be found stuffing the nest with tissue and timothy hay. She is always thinking ahead and is the first to take the treats she’s offered back to the others.
Peggy is the adventurer. She never lets her tiny size stop her—she just has to climb higher and get into toys faster than her sisters do. She’s very much the “kid sister” of the group, so she acts extra sassy to make up for it.
These rescued rat sisters were taken to a safe place. Now, they get to explore their surroundings and experience the joy of snuggling together in soft bedding.
But their brothers and sisters at the Cleveland Clinic weren’t so lucky.
What Rats Endure at the Cleveland Clinic
The ears of mice and rats at the Cleveland Clinic were painfully notched and fitted with large metal tags. PETA’s painstaking investigation revealed that experimenters inserted “cranial windows” into the skulls of mice, even though the abusive procedure offers little insight into human physiology. The experimenters also bred rats for brain experiments and reportedly implanted “head caps” into their skulls.
Who Are Rats, Really?
Rats are intelligent, curious, unique individuals, yet they’re commonly used as living test tubes—not for legitimate scientific reasons but because they’re cheap to breed and easy to handle. Rats are doting mothers. They dip their paws into cool water and gently smooth the fur around their infants’ faces. Babies put their arms around their mother’s neck, paying close attention while being bathed. But in labs, rats are denied any semblance of a natural life.
It’s speciesist to believe that they suffer any less than the cats and dogs we love and share our homes with.
You Can Help Prevent Rats From Suffering in Experiments
Peggy, Sarah, and Siri were saved from the Cleveland Clinic, but their brothers and sisters were used in horrific experiments there. Millions of others just like them will be tormented and killed in labs across the country this year alone.
Together, we can end pointless, cruel tests on animals. Let’s focus on getting funding for state-of-the-art, non-animal research methods—which offer real hope for advances in the study of human health and wellness.
Please, tell NIH to stop wasting your tax dollars on cruel, pointless experiments on animals.
