Message from PETA

Dear STX89 reader,

Picture a group of dogs, hamsters, or other animals trapped in cages and given higher and higher doses of toxic chemicals or drugs until they die.

This is called lethal-dose testing. It is so cruel and unreliable that even the companies that perform it want to use other methods.

But because of resistance by the federal government, which blocks more effective testing methods that do not involve animals, they can't. PETA is aggressively calling on the government to end its use of cruel and outdated animal experiments—and to stop stonewalling more accurate alternatives that don't cause suffering to animals. And we urgently need your help.

By making a donation to PETA today, your contribution will be matched dollar-for-dollar and will help us bring an end to the needless torture that is inflicted upon millions of individual animals who are innocent victims in government-mandated tests.

Through our special online "Stop Animal Testing" Challenge, we've already raised $115,611 toward our vital $250,000 goal. But we have a long way yet to go to reach the matching goal set by generous PETA donors. I hope I can count on you to help us get there!

Over a decade ago, because of the initiative and hard work of animal protection groups, Congress created the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) to encourage the development of non-animal tests. It was supposed to be a turning point for animals who were trapped in laboratories. Ten years later, ICCVAM has approved only four non-animal testing methods and has ignored or even rejected many tests that have been government-certified in Europe and widely used there for years.

Even one of the creators of ICCVAM says that the committee is failing to do its job. "One should ask why after years of existence they have reviewed so few tests," said Dr. Neil Wilcox, who also worked for the Food and Drug Administration. "The fundamental reason, in my opinion, is that the ICCVAM process has become recognized as an obstacle to getting tests validated as opposed to helping having tests validated" [emphasis added].

The stonewalling by ICCVAM is only part of the problem. Through its lack of initiative and head-in-the-sand approach to testing issues, the U.S. government's policies are forcing hundreds of companies to use hopelessly outdated and cruel experiments such as lethal-dose testing, which I mentioned above. The government is needlessly condemning millions of individual rabbits, dogs, mice, guinea pigs, and other animals to die in pain and terror.

Please donate online to PETA today and have your gift doubled to help us push the government to stop turning a blind eye to the misery that it causes to so many helpless animals.

Backed by some of the most credible experts in the field, PETA scientists and researchers are forcing the U.S. government to recognize that advancements in biology and computer modeling have made its reliance on animal testing as wasteful as it is cruel. Our efforts have recently been validated by the government itself. The National Academy of Sciences—the government's chief scientific advisory body—has released a report calling for an immediate shift to more reliable non-animal tests. And PETA is working hard to compel Congress, scientists, and regulators to make sure that this happens.

By modernizing regulatory testing, the government can stop wasting your tax dollars and—more importantly—save the lives of many scared and vulnerable animals. But we can't do it without your support.

I urge you to make a generous online gift to PETA today. In this "Stop Animal Testing" Challenge, your donation will do twice as much to protect animals who are suffering in government-mandated tests.

Thank you for coming to the aid of these animals.

Very truly yours,

Ingrid E. Newkirk
President