Date
April 26, 2006
Contact
Elliot M. Katz, DVM
(415) 388-9641, ext. 225
Kristie Phelps
(757) 423-0093
In Defense of Animals
3010 Kerner Blvd
San Rafael
CA 94901
IDA is an international, California-based animal advocacy organization dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by defending their rights, welfare and habitats.
Activists Around the Globe Observe World Week for Animals in Laboratories
Animal Protectionists Converge During Week of Action, Demanding End to Experiments on Animals
San Rafael, Calif—April 23 through 30 marks World Week for Animals in Laboratories (WWAIL), a week of action to expose the plight of the millions of animals who are held captive and tested upon in the name of research around the globe.
Because of the secretive nature of vivisection, the public is rarely exposed to the horrors taking place to dogs, cats, monkeys, mice, rats, and other animals in laboratories. They are poisoned, mutilated, tortured and killed for profit, greed and so-called education. WWAIL unites animal advocates around the world who attend events designed to educate the public about the scientific, moral and economic realities of animal experimentation and the humane alternatives that exist.
In Defense of Animals (IDA) serves as the international coordinator for WWAIL and since 1986, has watched it grow from one day of observance to a week-long effort that spurs scores of activities across the U.S. and worldwide. WWAIL events are being held in Chandler, Ariz.; Westwood and San Francisco, Calif.; Denver, Colo.; Maitland, Fla.; Atlanta, Ga.; Springfield, Ill.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Boston and Cape Cod, Mass.; St. Louis, Mo.; Durham, N.C.; Omaha, Neb.; Columbus, Ohio; Beaverton and Portland, Ore.; Harrisburg and Philadelphia, Pa.; Seattle, Wash. in the U.S., and WWAIL events are taking place internationally in Canada, France, Israel, South Africa, and Switzerland. For a complete list of events, please visit www.wwail.org.
News reports around the globe are shedding light on the unreliability of animal experiments and more and more doctors, scientists and animal experts are speaking out against vivisection. World-renowned primatologist, conservationist, and animal ambassador, Dr. Jane Goodall has condemned animal experimentation, stating, “It’s usually pretty hard for an ordinary person to get inside medical research facilities. They don’t want the general public really to know what’s going on. So much of this research isn’t leading to anything that could possibly be helpful.” She concludes, “To allow such barbaric conditions to continue is a very black mark against humanity.”
In February 2005, scientific director of Europeans for Medical Progress, Dr. Jarrod Bailey, called for an end to archaic studies using animals by saying, “They tell us nothing we don’t already know, simply serving to inform us as to what happens in those particular animals. And how will knowing the effects of maternal separation, low serotonin, and alcohol addiction in bonnet macaques help human medicine?”
In this day and age with modern non-invasive research technologies, drilling holes in monkeys’ skulls and inserting electrodes, blinding kittens, and addicting animals to alcohol and narcotics is frivolous and unacceptable. Supported by thousands of animal advocates, physicians, veterinarians, scientists, and healthcare reformers, WWAIL challenges the animal research industry’s propaganda with hard facts and new perspectives. For more information please visit www.wwail.org.