New Bill in the U.S. Aims to Rehome Animals Used in Testing Facilities

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A new bill introduced in the United States will see animals like dogs, cats, and rabbits who were used in animal testing being adopted after testing concludes. The bill will see any testing facility that receives funding from the National Institute of Health responsible for setting up adoptions for animals used in testing. This will see approximately 200, 000 dogs, cats, and rabbits re homed after testing concludes.

The bill is part of a broader plan to phase out animal testing altogether in favour of more humane research. 
"It’s simple: if a research facility uses pets for research, then they must work to find them homes,” Congressman Cárdenas said in a statement “We experiment on over 200,000 dogs, cats, and rabbits each year. The least we can do is give these living beings a chance at life in a loving home. My bill requires research facilities funded by the NIH to develop adoption policies for those animals. This is part of a larger effort to move away from animal-based testing and research wherever possible and toward more humane and sound scientific research.”
--California Congressman Tony Cardenas

The bill will also require testing facilities to keep records of all animals used for testing and make their numbers and adoptions available for the public to see. Once again, this is part of a broader plan to work towards phasing out animal testing whenever possible in favour of more humane methods.  This bill will make it a national responsibility for facilities who receive government funding to re home animals after testing concludes. Several states have already enacted similar bills including California, Illinois, New York, and Maryland, but this will bill will make it a national responsibility of testing facilities.

Animal testing is abhorrent. Whatever we are testing for, whether it's cosmetics, or medicines, or experimental treatments, these animals are subjected to some pretty gruesome testing and endure side effects of said testing that can be agonizing. Untreated lesions, skin irritation tests, and being given illnesses and diseases to test new possible treatments. These animals deserve nothing less than being re homed and adopted out to loving families after having to endure these unnecessary tests. 

While I would much rather hear that animal testing was being phased out effective immediately, I cannot scoff at any bill or change that will benefit animals. I do find myself wondering what kind of mental and emotional damage we will have done to them before they are adopted out. I would imagine that these tests and their lives leading up to adoption would have seriously negative effects on these poor animals. Will they trust humans after what they've endured? That's where I find myself conflicted here.

Ultimately, animal testing needs to be done away with and if this bill moves facilities away from live animal testing then I support it wholly. I do hope that facilities continue to move away from animal testing in favour of more humane practices sparing hundreds of thousands of animals from grueling tests being done to them. There's no justification for animal testing anymore when there are a plethora of other options available to researchers. Here's to an animal testing free future, it's possible and we're headed towards it!

HAPPY VEG