ND Lesson 5.2 Homework Reading on Animal Use in Scientific Research

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1 ND Lesson 5.2 Homework Reading on Animal Use in Scientific Research Perspective Statement #1: National Institutes of Health (Website: Why are animals used in research? NIH is the steward of medical and behavioral research for the Nation. Its mission is science in pursuit of fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to extend healthy life and reduce the burdens of illness and disability. NIH-supported scientists study diseases that cause pain and suffering and threaten the quality and length of life. NIH-supported scientists also study basic biological processes, expanding our knowledge of the origins and causes of disease. Through such research involving both humans and animals, scientists identify new ways to treat illnesses, extend life, and improve health and well-being. Both people and animals have unique and important roles as research subjects. Many medical advances that enhance the lives of both humans and animals originate from animal studies. The types of animals used in research are chosen for their similarity to humans in anatomy, physiology, and/or genetics. Not only can we learn how to prevent, treat, and cure human diseases by studying animals, but often the treatments developed can also be used to improve the health of animals. When new thinking about diseases and treatments are developed from this research, they must be evaluated very carefully so that benefits and risks from the proposed approach are clear. When necessary, new hypotheses are tested in animals first in order to gather sufficient evidence of these benefits and risks before considering possible use in humans. We can study animals in ways that we cannot study people for many reasons. Animal studies conducted in the laboratory allow scientists to control factors that might affect the outcome of the experiments factors like temperature, humidity, light, diet, or medications. Even the genetic composition of many animal models can be known and understood completely. These rigorous controls allow for more precise understanding of biological factors at hand and provide greater certainty about experimental outcomes when developing treatments. How does the NIH ensure animal welfare? The mission of the NIH is science in pursuit of fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to extend healthy life and reduce the burdens of illness and disability. To carry out this mission, NIH has an ethical and legal obligation to ensure the welfare of and minimize risks for all who participate in NIH-funded research. This includes both humans and animals.

2 All animals used in federally-funded research are protected by laws, regulations, and policies to ensure the smallest possible number of subjects and the greatest commitment to their welfare. Fulfilling these protections is a collaborative effort between NIH, federally-supported scientific investigators, and research institutions. NIH s Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) provides oversight of all NIH-supported research activities that involve animals. OLAW monitors NIH-funded institutions to ensure their compliance with animal welfare laws and policies. OLAW also investigates allegations concerning animal welfare and appropriate animal care in NIH-funded studies. Federally-supported scientists are accountable for the protection of research animals welfare from the earliest stages of planning until the project s completion. Before beginning the research, scientists must provide thorough, written justification for animal use, as well as a meticulous description of how animals will be housed and cared for and how veterinary care will be provided. The NIH peer review system evaluates these descriptions very rigorously. Peer reviewers are scientists from institutions around the world who understand scientific value of a particular animal model for understanding the biological processes of a health condition and its treatments. Their evaluations ensure that only the highest quality research projects are considered by NIH for funding. A committee at each institution called the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) also evaluates the proposed research. Comprised of local scientists, nonscientists, community members, and veterinarians, IACUCs closely monitor the research and ensure that the research conducted is in accordance with all provisions of the PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. The NIH will not fund research that uses animals if the IACUC has not given its approval to the proposed study. Throughout the research process, the IACUC monitors the care and use of animals at the institution, and it has the authority to suspend any activities involving animals if the research is not in compliance with federal requirements. NIH-funded institutions must report promptly to OLAW if the IACUC finds any violation of the PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. OLAW then considers these reports and requires the institution to make appropriate corrections and to prevent further violations. Working together with the research institutions it funds, NIH upholds its commitment to the safety and welfare of laboratory animals so that researchers may continue to understand the biological processes of health and disease and to develop treatments that improve quality of life for both people and animals.

3 ND Lesson 5.2 Homework Reading on Animal Use in Scientific Research Perspective Statement #2: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) (Website: Each year, more than 100 million animals including mice, rats, frogs, dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, monkeys, fish, and birds are killed in U.S. laboratories for chemical, drug, food, and cosmetics testing; biology lessons; medical training; and curiosity-driven experimentation. Before their deaths, some are forced to inhale toxic fumes, others are immobilized in restraint devices for hours, some have holes drilled into their skulls, and others have their skin burned off or their spinal cords crushed. In addition to the torment of the actual experiments, animals in laboratories are deprived of everything that is natural and important to them they are confined to barren cages, socially isolated, and psychologically traumatized. The thinking, feeling animals who are used in experiments are treated like nothing more than disposable laboratory equipment. Wasteful and Unreliable While a Pew Research poll found 43 percent of adults surveyed oppose the use of animals in scientific research, other surveys suggest that those who do accept animal experimentation do so only because they believe it to be necessary for medical progress. The reality is that the majority of animal experiments do not contribute to improving human health, and the value of the role that animal experimentation plays in most medical advances is questionable. In an article published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers warned that patients and physicians should remain cautious about extrapolating the finding of prominent animal research to the care of human disease poor replication of even high-quality animal studies should be expected by those who conduct clinical research. Diseases that are artificially induced in animals in a laboratory are never identical to those that occur naturally in human beings. And because animal species differ from one another biologically in many significant ways, it becomes even more unlikely that animal experiments will yield results that will be correctly interpreted and applied to the human condition in a meaningful way. For example, according to former National Cancer Institute Director Dr. Richard Klausner, We have cured mice of cancer for decades, and it simply didn t work in humans. And although at least 85 HIV/AIDS vaccines have been successful in nonhuman primate studies, as of 2010, every one of nearly 200 preventive and therapeutic vaccine trials has failed to demonstrate benefit to humans. In one case, an AIDS vaccine that was shown to be effective in monkeys failed in human clinical trials because it did not prevent people from developing AIDS, and some believe that it made them more susceptible to the disease. According to a report in the British newspaper The Independent, one conclusion from the failed study was that testing HIV vaccines on monkeys before they are used on humans, does not in fact work.

4 Ninety-two percent of drugs those that have been tested on animals and in vitro do not make it through Phase 1 of human clinical trials (the initial studies that determine reaction, effectiveness, and side effects of doses of a potential drug). In addition, the results of animal experiments can be variable and easily manipulated. Research published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine revealed that universities commonly exaggerate findings from animal experiments conducted in their laboratories and often promote research that has uncertain relevance to human health and do not provide key facts or acknowledge important limitations. One study of media coverage of scientific meetings concluded that news stories often omit crucial information and that the public may be misled about the validity and relevance of the science presented. Because experimenters rarely publish results of failed animal studies, other scientists and the public do not have ready access to information on the ineffectiveness of animal experimentation. Funding and Accountability Through their taxes, charitable donations, and purchases of lottery tickets and consumer products, members of the public are ultimately the ones who knowingly or unknowingly fund animal experimentation. One of the largest sources of funding comes from publicly funded government granting agencies such as the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Approximately 40 percent of NIH-funded research involves experimentation on nonhuman animals, and in 2009, the NIH budgeted nearly $29 billion for research and development. In addition, many charities including the March of Dimes, the American Cancer Society, and countless others use donations to fund experiments on animals. Visit HumaneSeal.org to find out which charities do and which do not fund research on animals. Despite the vast amount of public funds being used to underwrite animal experimentation, it is nearly impossible for the public to obtain current and complete information regarding the animal experiments that are being carried out in their communities or funded with their tax dollars. State open-records laws and the U.S. Freedom of Information Act can be used to obtain documents and information from state institutions, government agencies, and other federally funded facilities, but private companies, contract labs, and animal breeders are exempt. In many cases, institutions that are subject to open-records laws fight vigorously to withhold information about animal experimentation from the public. Oversight and Regulation Despite the countless animals killed each year in laboratories worldwide, most countries have grossly inadequate regulatory measures in place to protect animals from suffering and distress or to prevent them from being used when a non-animal approach is readily available. In the U.S., the most commonly used species in laboratory experiments (mice, rats, birds, reptiles, and amphibians) are specifically exempted from even the minimal protections of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA). Laboratories that use only these species are not required by law to provide animals with pain relief or veterinary care, to search for and consider alternatives to animal use, to have an institutional committee review proposed experiments, or to be inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) or any other entity. Experimenters don t even have to count

5 the mice and rats they kill. Some estimates indicate that as many as 800 U.S. laboratories are not subject to federal laws and inspections because they experiment exclusively on mice, rats, and other animals whose use is unregulated. As for the approximately 9,000 facilities that the USDA does regulate (of which about 1,000 are designated for research ), only 99 USDA inspectors are employed to oversee their operations. Reports over a span of 10 years concluded that even the minimal standards set forth by the AWA are not being met by these facilities. In 2000, a USDA survey of the agency s laboratory inspectors revealed serious problems in numerous areas, including the search for alternatives [and] review of painful procedures. A September 2005 audit report issued by the USDA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found ongoing problems with the search for alternative research, veterinary care, review of painful procedures, and the researchers use of animals. The OIG report estimated that experimenters failed to search for alternatives at almost one-third of facilities. Even animals who are covered by the law can be burned, shocked, poisoned, isolated, starved, forcibly restrained, addicted to drugs, and brain-damaged no procedures or experiments, regardless of how trivial or painful they may be, are prohibited by law. When valid non-animal research methods are available, no law requires experimenters to use such methods instead of animals. The Way Forward Human clinical, population, and in vitro studies are critical to the advancement of medicine; even animal experimenters need them if only to confirm or reject the validity of their experiments. However, research with human participants and other non-animal methods does require a different outlook, one that is creative and compassionate and embraces the underlying philosophy of ethical science. Animal experimenters artificially induce diseases; clinical investigators study people who are already ill or who have died. Animal experimenters want a disposable research subject who can be manipulated as desired and killed when convenient; clinicians must do no harm to their patients or study participants. Animal experimenters face the ultimate dilemma knowing that their artificially created animal model can never fully reflect the human condition, while clinical investigators know that the results of their work are directly relevant to people. Human health and well-being can also be promoted by adopting nonviolent methods of scientific investigation and concentrating on the prevention of disease before it occurs, through lifestyle modification and the prevention of further environmental pollution and degradation. The public needs to become more aware and more vocal about the cruelty and inadequacy of the current research system and must demand that its tax dollars and charitable donations not be used to fund experiments on animals.

6 ND Lesson 5.2 Homework Reading on Animal Use in Scientific Research Perspective Statement #3: Americans for Medical Progress (Website: Animal research plays a crucial role in scientists' understanding of diseases and in the development of effective medical treatments. Research animals provide scientists with complex living systems consisting of cells, tissues and organs. Animal models can interact and react to stimuli, giving researchers a picture of a compound moving through a living system and an idea of how that stimuli might react in a human being. Animals are biologically similar to humans in many ways and they are vulnerable to over 200 of the same health problems. This makes them an effective model for researchers to study. The majority of research animals are used in experiments focused on disease treatment and prevention, and the treatment of injuries. Laboratory animals are also used in basic medical research, breeding other research animals and diagnosis. Rats and mice account for about 95 percent of all animals used in research. Most of the remaining research animals are rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, farm animals, fish and insects. Combined, less than one percent of the remaining research animals are cats, dogs and non-human primates. The overwhelming majority of research animals are specifically bred for laboratories. Understanding Animal Research has a timeline of medical progress and the role animals have played. Before conducting research on animals, scientists make absolutely certain animals are needed for their experiments. For more than 50 years, scientists have relied on the "3Rs": refinement of tests so animal distress or pain is minimal, reduction of the number of animals used in one particular study, and the replacement, whenever possible, of animal experiments with nonanimal experiments. Animal Research FAQs 1. How can we learn from medical research using animals? Each species in the animal kingdom is unique. But just as there are differences, there are also key similarities. Scientists use both similarities and differences to gain insight into the many different human biological systems. Scientists often work with animal models that have biological systems similar to that of a human. For instance, pigs and humans share similar cardiovascular systems. By working with pigs, scientists are better able to develop and study new heart medicines. To study genetic disorders such as Down's syndrome or Parkinson s disease, researchers might study a mouse model which shares 98% of its DNA with humans!

7 The differences exhibited in a research model can also provide great insight. For instance, sharks are immune to cancer. By studying their biological system, scientists hope to understand what mechanism prohibits shark cells from mutating into cancer cells, and from this information, create a medicine that mimics that mechanism to prevent cancerous cells from forming in humans and animals. 2. Why do veterinarians and other lab animal care professionals participate in animal research? Those who are involved in animal-based research realize that animals are a vital cornerstone to medical progress. They work diligently to advocate for the welfare and care of their animals. By participating in research, they are able to ensure the minimization of animal pain and distress while facilitating the continuation of medical progress. 3. Do animals in research suffer? During every step of the research process, animal pain and distress is assessed and monitored to provide the highest level of animal care while protecting the validity of research data. Animal welfare laws, such as those listed in the U.S. Animal Welfare Act (AWA), require that the appropriate veterinary care, housing, feeding, handling, sanitation and ventilation are provided to animals involved in research. To further the protection of animals in research, governing bodies such as Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs) work together with researchers to ensure protocols are followed, anesthesia and postoperative painkillers are used when appropriate, and alternatives to animal research are sought out and implemented whenever possible. Many institutions go above and beyond existing laws and take the next step in animal care by seeking accreditation from the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC). By adhering to a strict set of guidelines, institutions with AAALAC accreditation work to further ensure the welfare of their research animals. One of the most important but unknown facts about animal research is that just like your local veterinarian, research veterinarians, husbandry specialists and animal health technicians people who care deeply for research animals - are on the front lines of research, ensuring the highest quality of care. They work directly with the scientists and the research animals to minimize pain and stress, two factors that affect the welfare of the animals as well as the validity of research data. 4. What happens to the animals? It is important to note that according to the USDA, 95+% of all animals used in research are rats and mice. Almost all the animals involved in research studies are eventually euthanized (put to sleep). By euthanizing the animal, scientists are able to answer scientific questions at a microscopic level, providing them with information that may help formulate new medical treatments and cures. By using the methods put forth by the American Veterinary Medical Association, scientists ensure a humane endpoint for the animals they use in their research.

8 5. Why are there increasing numbers of mice and fish used in research? According to the USDA, the number of animals used in research that are covered under the Animal Welfare Act (all animals except rats, mice and birds) have decreased markedly since This is largely because of scientists quest for alternatives to animal-based research. In some of the smaller species, such as mice and zebra fish, the numbers have increased due to the development of transgenic research. In this type of research, scientists are able to identify and produce specific breeding characteristics, enabling them to pinpoint and study a particular gene deficiency or trait. 6. Why can t alternatives like computers replace animals? In many cases they have, but while computers provide fantastic resources to researchers all over the world, they do have limitations. For instance, computers are only able to provide information or models of known phenomenon. Because research consistently seeks answers to unknowns, a computer is unable to simulate how a particular cell might interact or react with a medical compound, or for example, how a particular human system such as the circulatory system will react to a new drug directed to improve organ functionality. It is important to remember that a single living cell is many times more complex than even the most sophisticated computer program. There are an estimated trillion cells in the human body, all of which communicate and interact using a complicated biochemical language language scientists have only just begun to learn. To fully understand the effect of a new chemical, such as a new medicine, scientists must use whole systems, like those in animals, to understand the impact of a drug and the potential benefits and possible harms they pose to humans and animals. 7. Do we have the right to use animals? What about their rights? As living beings with a conscience mind, we cannot ignore human or animal suffering. Each day scientists use their knowledge to minimize suffering in both humans and animals by conducting medical research that will benefit the greater good. They work to provide research animals with a clean environment, food, water and minimal pain and suffering. The law also requires that all new drugs, medical devices and procedures first be tested on animals for safety and efficacy reasons. 8. Do researchers conduct animal experience for profit motives? Doctors, scientists and lab animal professionals are involved in research because they recognize the limitations in our ability to prevent, diagnose, and cure disease in humans and animals. Biomedical research is a noble profession and many in the field could make more money in other career paths. Animal research is extremely expensive and requires a tremendous investment in well-trained people and special facilities. It is also heavily regulated, requiring an institution to invest a significant amount of time and expense to ensure that all applicable regulations and guidelines are met. Conducting animal-based research is not something that institutions undertake without a great deal of thought.

9 9. Why test on animals when cruelty free products are available? The law requires animal testing on all new chemical compounds and it is important to understand what cruelty free labels really mean. By definition anyone can use the cruelty free label if: 1 As the distributing manufacturer they have not tested the product on animals. *It is important to note that a company can still use the label if they send their product to another vendor to be tested on animals. 2- Some (but not all) components of the product have been tested on animals. *In some cases products that have been previously tested on animals and have been found safe can be used by other companies and marketed as cruelty free. 10. How can we be sure lost or stolen pets are not used in research? Over 80% of the animals used in today s research are purpose bred (i.e. bred specifically for research purposes). Those not specifically created for research come from licensed Class B animal dealers that are regulated and inspected by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) or from pounds where animals would have otherwise been euthanized (put to sleep). As part of the regulatory system, the USDA mandates that animals procured from pounds must be held on the pound s premises for five days and on the dealer s premises for an additional five to ten days. With a combined holding period of ten to fifteen days, owners have ample time to locate lost pets and shelters to find new homes for unwanted animals. Pet owners have a responsibility to make sure their animals can be easily identified and returned if lost through collars with tags, tattoos or microchips.

10 ND Lesson 5.2 Homework Reading on Animal Use in Scientific Research Perspective Statements #4: Understanding Animal Research (Website: The public debate on animal research sometimes gets so heated that the facts can be overlooked. How many animals are used in research every year? Do people know that most of them are mice or rats? Why are animals genetically modified? How is animal research regulated? How are the animals cared for? What actually happens to research animals? How does the use of animals in research and testing compare with other uses of animals by society? We aim to answer all these questions. Animals are essential in scientific research, medicines development and safety testing. They are necessary to understand the body in health and disease, and to develop new and improved medical treatments. But their use is not undertaken lightly. Both the potential scientific and medical benefits of the research, and the possible suffering of the animals used, are weighed up carefully before any animal research project can proceed. No one wants to use animals in research, and no one would use them unnecessarily. Animal research is considered a last resort, to be used only when there is no alternative method. Strict regulations and a licensing system mean that animals must be looked after properly and may not be used if there is any other way of doing a piece of research. Non-animal methods are used for the majority of biomedical research. Animal studies are used alongside these other types of research. Such alternative' methods include the study of cells and tissues grown in the laboratory, computer-modeled systems, and human patients, volunteers or populations. The following section will put the research processes in context, explain when animals need to be used and how they are used, by addressing common myths about animal research. Myth: Research on animals is not relevant to people because animals are different from people. Fact: All mammals are descended from common ancestors, so humans are biologically very similar to other mammals. All mammals, including humans, have the same organs heart, lungs, kidneys, liver etc that work in the same way, controlled via the bloodstream and nervous system. Of course there are minor differences, but these are far outweighed by the remarkable similarities. The differences can also give important clues about diseases and how they might be treated for instance, if we knew why the mouse with muscular dystrophy suffers less muscle wasting than human patients, this might lead to a treatment for this debilitating and fatal disorder.

11 Vitamins work in the same way in animals as they do in people research on guinea pigs led to the discovery of how vitamin C works. Hormones found in animals also work in a similar way in people. The following animal hormones have all been used successfully in human patients: insulin from pigs or cows; thyrotropin from cows; calcitonin from salmon; adrenocorticotrophic hormone from farm animals; oxytocin and vasopressin from pigs. Myth: Animals don t need to be used in research because there are alternatives. Fact: We cannot yet reproduce complex diseases in a cell culture, get a computer to cough, or examine a whole beating heart in a test-tube. By law, animals must not be used in a research project if viable non-animal techniques are available. Most research is already carried out using these other methods. But we still need to use animals at some point. The living body is much more than just a collection of its parts; we need to understand how they interact. Humans can only be used in limited situations. Scientists have strong ethical, economic and legal obligations to use animals in research only when necessary. Thus the number of research animals used annually in the UK has almost halved in the last 30 years. As science progresses, it may be possible to reduce further the numbers of animals used in some areas. In other areas, the numbers of animals may increase. The guiding principles in animal research today are called the three Rs: Refinement, to make sure animals suffer as little as possible; Reduction, to minimize the number of animals used; Replacement, to replace animals with non-animal techniques wherever possible. Myth: Most research animals are cats, dogs or monkeys. Fact: More than 80 out of every 100 animals used in research are mice, rats and other rodents. Only one in every 1,000 research animals is a cat or a dog. Dogs, because of the size and similarity of their organs, are important for the development of new surgical techniques and for the study of the heart, lungs and blood vessels. Cats are important in the study of hearing and brain function. The use of both cats and dogs is subject to particular controls which require that they are specially bred for research. Stray cats and dogs or lost pets are not used for research in Britain. Some people believe that monkeys and apes (primates) are used in great numbers, but monkeys represent less than one in every 2,000 research animals. Apes are not used at all in the UK and Europe. Smaller primates such as macaques and marmosets are needed for research into very serious conditions such as AIDS and Alzheimer's disease. Myth: There are no laws or regulations protecting laboratory animals. Fact: Around the world the welfare of animals in research is protected by national and international legislation, by local laws and by ethical committees.

12 Myth: Researchers do not care about the well-being of laboratory animals. Fact: Researchers are concerned about the welfare of the animals that they study and this concern is both humane and scientific. Scientists are at least as caring as other people and, like anyone else, often have pets of their own. They have no reason to mistreat research animals and good reason for treating them well, because the use of unhealthy, stressed or frightened animals would reduce the reliability of an experiment s results. Researchers make sure that their animals are well fed, well housed and kept free of infections and other illnesses.

13 ND Lesson 5.2 Homework Reading on Animal Use in Scientific Research Perspective Statement #5: Humane Society of the United States (Website: Picture the dog at your feet, the guinea pigs or mice you had as pets growing up, or the birds at the feeder in your yard. Now imagine 25 million of animals just like these living in small laboratory cages and being deliberately sickened over the course of weeks, months, or even years--and then killed. If animal experimentation was the hallmark of 20th century biomedical research, sophisticated non-animal methods are likely to characterize 21st century research. Many humane state-of-theart alternatives to animal experiments have already been shown to be effective in advancing medical progress, cutting research costs, and eliminating animal suffering. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is at the forefront of promoting these research methods and their continued development, as well as ending some of the most inhumane research practices. Until the day when animals are no longer used in harmful experiments, the HSUS, with your help, also strives to gain stronger legal protection for animals used in research, and seeks to limit animal use and suffering. Right now, approximately 95% of the animals used for research aren't afforded even the minimal protections of the Animal Welfare Act. Pain & Distress in Research Animals Imagine recovering from abdominal surgery with little or no pain medication. If you were an animal in a laboratory, you wouldn t need to imagine. Stressful laboratory environments and harmful experiments can make life miserable. As long as animals are being used in experimentation, we will work with your help to eliminate their pain and distress. Shocking as it may seem, researchers are allowed to perform experiments that cause unrelieved pain and distress to animals. They can claim that providing relief would interfere with the scientific goals of their experiment. But their justifications are often questionable. The result is that millions of animals suffer in U.S. laboratories every year. Yet much of that suffering could be prevented by using pain medications, euthanizing animals before their suffering becomes prolonged, training an animal to cooperate with a procedure, or simply choosing a less harmful way to perform an experiment. Until the day that animals are no longer used in research, it s crucial that we work to eliminate all pain and distress from their daily lives. Pets Used in Experiments We all know dogs or cats who were adopted from an animal shelter or rescued by a kind person. But some pets aren t as fortunate and wind up in the terrifying world of Class B dealers, who buy up animals, transport them to holding facilities and then onto laboratories for use in harmful experiments in an often long and stressful journey.

14 There are currently nine Class B dealers in the U.S. (although one has a suspended license and is not likely to resume activity) who round up thousands of dogs and cats each year and sell them to research facilities. They obtain these pets from flea markets, auctions, shelters, and other socalled "random sources," including from shady middle-men known as bunchers, who often resort to outright theft of pets and misrepresentation when responding to free-to-good-home ads. Undercover investigations by animal protection organizations and inspections by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (which licenses Class B dealers) have revealed heartbreaking conditions at Class B dealer facilities, such as undernourished, sick dogs and cats living in filth amidst dead animals, receiving little if any veterinary care, and being abused by handlers. Chimpanzees Used in Research The desperate screams of fear captured on video by an HSUS undercover investigator speak volumes. This, coupled with hours of dreary boredom, is the life that more than 1,000 chimpanzees in US laboratories are forced to endure some for over 50 years. But, with your help, The HSUS is working to make their suffering a thing of the past. Midge spends his days lounging in the sun at The HSUS s Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch a sanctuary for rescued animals. But Midge s life wasn t always so carefree. This playful chimpanzee spent his first twenty years in a research laboratory, a traumatic experience that took a toll on his physical and mental health. As people learn about the conditions that chimpanzees highly intelligent and social animals who feel happiness, sorrow, pain and loneliness are forced to endure in laboratories, pressure mounts to end their use in harmful research altogether, as has been done in so many other countries.