In honor of World Week for Animals in Laboratories this year, we partnered with local groups in Massachusetts and Arizona to take action and raise awareness about the horrific animal experimentation taking place at universities.

We joined Western Mass. Animal Rights Advocates for two demonstrations against the torture of marmosets and other animals at the University of Massachusetts. During a daytime action, the Trail of Fears installation showed the names and photos of the 16 marmosets who were most recently killed at the university, and a banner drop from Morrill Science Building, asking the university to stop hurting marmosets, sparked students to ask lively questions and share their views on animal experimentation. Activists provided facts to help students understand the impact of animal testing on not just the animals, but on the students' futures in progressive modern science if not educated with 21st-century human-relevant tools.

An evening action involved a video projection of marmoset monkeys in the wild and the UMass research lab, offering student viewers the stark contrast between free-living, happy marmosets and those caged, captive, and anxious in the lab.

At UMass over the past decade, marmosets have been subjected to invasive surgeries, hormone manipulation, confinement, and stress-inducing tests. These experiments are claimed to study menopause and neurodegenerative diseases in human women but involve harmful procedures like the surgical removal of reproductive organs, sleep deprivation, social isolation to study stress responses, and forced restraint. Once the experiments are finished, the marmosets are killed and dissected.

Also during World Week for Animals In Labs, we joined Tucson-based animal rights group Supporting and Promoting Ethics for the Animal Kingdom (SPEAK) to take a stand against extreme animal cruelty at the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine. Activists held signs and displayed banners on the sidewalk next to a busy street.

From brain-mapping experiments on primates to surgical training procedures on pigs, the University of Arizona has been involved in extremely cruel animal experiments despite the availability of alternatives, including in vitro studies, computer modeling, and advanced imaging techniques. Failures by University Animal Care include inadequate training and carelessness in the handling of animals, causing injury and death. Years ago, a primate named Pepe was the victim of a botched cranial surgical procedure.

The university already has access to the state-of-the-art Arizona Simulation Technology and Education Center and could immediately end the use of live animals for its surgery residency.

On World Day for Laboratory Animals, we joined the Veg Out Club at Arizona State University for a tabling event to educate students and faculty about vivisection and the animal experimentation that is taking place there. ASU performs invasive surgeries and tests on a wide range of animals, including primates, cats, and rats. Some experiments involve brain surgeries and forced restraint, causing extreme psychological distress and physical harm to the animals. There have been incidents, such as macaques attacking each other, leading to injuries.

ASU has six dedicated animal research labs; five are located on the Tempe campus, and the remaining one is in downtown Phoenix. In these facilities, animals are burned, poisoned, addicted, starved, brain-damaged, shocked, used as breeding machines, and caged alone for years in the name of scientific curiosity.

The University of Massachusetts, the University of Arizona, and Arizona State University continue to perform extremely cruel and invasive experiments on animals. It is time for these institutions to phase out these horrific and outdated experiments and align themselves with progressive and compassionate practices. Non-animal research methods are more reliable, ethical, and cost-effective. We are urging universities to end the use of animals in research, invest in modern alternatives, and align with their values of innovation and progress by adopting humane and more effective research methods.

If you haven’t already done so, please make calls, post on social media, and sign our action alert calling on these three universities to end animal experimentation.

Fortunately, there have been a few recent wins related to animal experimentation:

• On April 25, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) announced that the University of Arizona has ended its use of live animals for training surgeons. Pigs were used in surgical procedures, but now, ethical, non-animal methods will be used. However, the university is continuing animal experimentation.
• In April, the FDA announced a plan to phase out its animal testing requirement. The plan will also incorporate New Approach Methodologies (NAMs).
• PETA won its public records lawsuit against UMass Amherst, giving it access to all records related to testing on marmoset monkeys. The lawsuit was filed in 2022 after the university refused to hand over requested documents.
• The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is aiming to reduce the use of animals in NIH-funded research and prioritize human-based research.