| | | | | NEWS HIGHLIGHTS March 2024 |  Cruelty-Free Cosmetics in the U.S. We Need a Law! Do you think that cosmetics and their ingredients should be tested on animals? No! Animals should not suffer and die just to test cosmetics, personal care products, and their ingredients. The Humane Cosmetics Act (HCA) would help end the unnecessary suffering that animals such as rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, and mice are forced to endure in cosmetics testing. This is especially important for mice and rats, because the HCA gives a layer of protection not afforded by the Animal Welfare Act, which specifically excludes these animals when used in laboratories. Alternatives can replace animal suffering! The HCA would require companies to ensure the safety of cosmetic products and ingredients by relying only on data produced through non-animal alternatives. This is a compassionate, smarter approach to science, and by replacing animal tests with human-based alternatives, test results are directly applicable to human conditions. Support the Humane Cosmetics Act! Passage of the HCA is particularly important now because the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) regulatory authority has been expanded, and AAVS and others are very concerned that the FDA may be poised to call for new animal tests. If that happens, it could be extremely difficult to obtain certain products with ingredients that have not been tested on animals. Passage of the HCA would provide a backstop to help prevent this, and spare countless animals the unnecessary pain and suffering they would otherwise be forced to endure. Contact your Representative today! |
|  The many problems with primate research are outlined in this in-depth article. It includes a quote from organ-on-a-chip pioneer Don Ingber, who says he aims for better science, not necessarily to replace animals. “I’ve been in meetings with FDA, I’ve been in meetings with pharma, and everybody agrees that animal models are suboptimal. On average, 70% of the time, they’re wrong. And in some areas, 95% of the time they’re wrong.”
READ MORE » |  With over 20 years of experience in humane science education, our Animalearn Director, Nicole Green, discusses the hidden message in dissection curriculum: that animals are “just a tool for you to cut into and then discard,” in a recent Species Unite podcast. Yet millions of animals, including cats, pigs, and frogs, are dissected in schools despite the availability of high-tech alternatives that help students learn as well or better than animal dissection.
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| | SANCTUARY MOMENT: Center for Great Apes |  Mari’s Magazine Feet-ture Who wouldn’t enjoy lounging in a hammock, reading an interesting magazine? It’s one of Mari’s favorite things to do, while she lives her best life at the Center for Great Apes (CGA), located in Florida. But take a closer look. Can you tell? Mari is holding her magazine with her feet! Mari was born at the Yerkes Primate Research Center in Atlanta and lost both her arms at just 12 weeks old when her mom, in a very agitated state, damaged her limbs beyond repair. Despite this trauma, Mari was still used in language and cognition studies for nearly 20 years before arriving at CGA. But she doesn’t let her disability slow her down! Her caregivers say she moves with such ease and grace that it’s easy to forget she is missing her arms. CGA is home to nearly 70 orangutans and chimpanzees, many of whom were once used in research, and is a longtime recipient of AAVS grants from our Sanctuary Fund. They do a great job sharing everything the animals are up to at the sanctuary, so be sure to check them out on social media!
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