January 2008 In November, the E.U.’s Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods announced the validation of MatTek’s EpiDerm reconstructed skin model as a full replacement for rabbits in skin-irritation tests of chemicals and drugs. A donation from PETA Europe to the Institute for In Vitro Sciences in Maryland had allowed scientists at the facility to … Read more »
January 2008 After a whistleblower faxed PETA the brochure for a thyroid-disease conference at which a “live dissection” was to be performed on pigs, PETA sent the conference organizers a list of alternatives that would teach medical professionals the skills that they need without harming animals. The organizers canceled the pig dissection in favor of demonstrations … Read more »
January 2008 When PETA learned that the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) was calling for more animal tests on a natural, plant-based sweetener derived from stevia, our scientists submitted extensive comments to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) refuting CSPI’s claims. Stevia and its derivatives have been thoroughly studied in animals and safely … Read more »
July 2007 For more than a year, PETA worked with PepsiCo–the parent company of brands like Pepsi-Cola, Frito-Lay, Tropicana, Quaker Oats, and Gatorade–to convince the corporation and its partners to end their funding of animal tests, one of which involved infecting mice with a respiratory virus and then forcing them to exercise on a treadmill for … Read more »
July 2007 Coca-Cola had a history of conducting invasive and deadly animal experiments–including cutting open chimpanzees’ faces in order to conduct taste tests and force-feeding chemicals to rats to test “caramel color”–none of which is necessary or required by law. After discussions with PETA and after we learned that Coca-Cola was funding a deadly physiology test … Read more »
April 2007 Live pigs will no longer be subjected to cruel and invasive surgical procedures in Scott & White Memorial Hospital’s “Advanced Trauma Life Support” (ATLS) course. After hearing from PETA about a sophisticated human patient simulator called TraumaMan, a Scott & White executive wrote to us and agreed to end the ATLS animal labs in … Read more »
January 2007 Although usually quick to recommend animal experiments for everything from asbestos to butter flavoring, a National Toxicology Program (NTP) expert panel nixed a call for animal testing of diethyl phthalate, an already thoroughly tested chemical compound widely used as a plasticizer in consumer products, including plastic packaging, cosmetics formulations, and toiletries. The NTP opted … Read more »
January 2007 In September, the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and other organizations petitioned the EPA to require manufacturers to conduct toxicity experiments on animals for air fresheners. PETA submitted comments analyzing data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers that show that the number of exposure incidents reported for air fresheners is … Read more »
July 2006 After learning that Welch’s–a maker of grape juice–funded animal experiments that involved cutting open dogs’ chests, forcing monkeys to inhale noxious secondhand cigarette smoke, and injecting rats with toxic chemicals, PETA fired off a letter to company officials asking that they halt their funding of animal tests. On May 16, PETA received confirmation from … Read more »
April 2006 One year after PETA’s undercover investigator left the laboratory of animal-testing conglomerate Covance, the U.S. Department of Agriculture fined the company for violations of the Animal Welfare Act based on PETA’s videotape evidence. PETA’s investigator documented that workers were hitting monkeys, throwing them against cage doors, and psychologically tormenting them. Sick and injured monkeys … Read more »
January 2006 PETA wrote to NYC menswear and accessory store Jack Spade after receiving numerous complaints about the company’s sale of frog dissection kits. After receiving PETA’s letter explaining the needlessness of killing frogs and other animals for dissections, the company had a change of heart. Clearing its shelves of the kits–which came with a vacuum-sealed, … Read more »
October 2005 Stray cats in Victoria, Texas, will no longer be susceptible to being picked up by local animal control officials and taken to The Victoria College for use in endotracheal intubation teaching exercises associated with the Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) course. Animal intubation laboratories typically involve forcing plastic tubes down cats’ throats in order … Read more »
July 2005 In our effort to convince universities and medical centers to use the TraumaMan(R)–a state-of-the-art computerized manikin approved by the American College of Surgeons–in place of animals in ATLS(R) courses, we sent a letter to Iowa Health-Des Moines requesting that it make this compassionate decision. On August 3, 2005, PETA received written assurance that Iowa … Read more »
