The FDA is finally catching up with animal rights advocates. A new law signed by President Biden at the end of December reflects the reality that testing on animals is cruel, and – ironically – unscientific. The FDA Modernization Act 2.0 ends the requirement that drugs in development must undergo testing in animals before being given to participants in human trials. 

Animal Testing is Unreliable

Animal testing has been found to be an unreliable predictor of toxicity in a large range of drugs. The FDA Modernization Act makes way for new methods of animal testing such as testing cells grown on chips, or organoids, organized cell tissue mimicking human organs. Data modeling has also been shown to help predict human reactions to drugs. Animal testing is a slow and tortuous process. The lab animal trade imports animals like monkeys into the US to be caged and tested by being implanted with diseases like cancer. The suffering the animals endure is intense and unconscionable. In our recent blog, we discussed how Elon Musk’s Neuralink has been using rhesus macaques in botched experiments that have caused painful injury and death. The “forward thinking” company has been needlessly killing animals and operating under a “move fast and break things” policy which has resulted in animal suffering more than it has produced results. 

Animal Suffering is Not Yet Over

The FDA Modernization Act does not yet make animal testing illegal. There is a long way to go before the suffering of lab animals is over. It’s estimated that around 50 million animals are used in lab experiments in the US each year. A large majority of the animals are highly intelligent and social animals who can understand what’s happening to them and witness the suffering of their peers. 

What You Can Do 

The FDA’s New Law makes it more likely that states will move to ban animal testing on cosmetics and more, as New York just did. It’s important to maintain pressure on local representatives to change the law. You can also help by boycotting all companies that test their products on animals. Apps such as “cruelty cutter” and “Bunny” can help you to vet the products you are buying to check if they are cruelty free. 

Vietnam’s illegal wildlife trade is notorious for the sale of dog meat and the cruel treatment of animals caged and sold at so-called “wet-markets.” The country has committed to ending some of these cruel practices, but a probe has found that the cruel animal trade still persists.

The scenes of suffering that play out for animals are diverse and tragic.

Consider the following:

A water-bird is tethered to the top of a small cage with 6 others of its species. This agonizing prison is where these birds will spend their last moments, in noisy markets known as “wet markets.” At these markets animals are slaughtered in front of each other. Many of the animals brought to the markets are rare birds and endangered animals like turtles.

Or imagine what it’s like for a dog who is kidnapped from their owner or off the street, and bundled into a tight cage with other dogs who are frightened, confused, hungry and/or sick. As a captured dog, you witness other dogs being slaughtered in front of you until it’s your turn to be killed. These are the scenes that still play out in Vietnam’s dog meat trade. 88% of people want to end the dog meat trade, but there are no nationwide laws in Vietnam to prevent it.

Wet markets have become notorious since the COVID outbreak due to the health consequences of animal to human disease transmission. At wet markets, animals are kept in miserable conditions and routinely killed without even being stunned.

Vietnam’s prime minister has issued a directive that calls on regional authorities to crack down on wet markets and enforce existing laws to curb the trade of endangered animals. The government has made efforts to curb the dog meat trade in big cities but these efforts are still piecemeal. The investigation by We Animals Asia and the Asia Animals Coalition showed that post-COVID, people have gone back to business as usual, abducting dogs and animals from the wild and enthusiastically slaughtering and selling them at bustling wet markets and restaurants that serve dog meat.

To help animals who are killed and treated cruelly in Asia the public must continue to send the message that these practices are heinous and unacceptable. Work must be done to assist any initiatives that support enforcement and the rescue of animals. To learn more about how to support these efforts, please visit Animals Asia and the Asia Animals Coalition.

Plainville Farms was allegedly designated by a third-party labeling program as “animal welfare certified.” PETA was skeptical and sent a private investigator to check. They found horrifying evidence of turkey catchers committing some of the most extreme acts of animal cruelty a PETA Vice President said the organization had ever seen.

PETA’s undercover investigator abstained from the cruelty and was berated for taking too long. “There’s not time for that,” he was told. “You need to find a different job.” His co-workers’ acts of cruelty were documented on video. Co-workers stomped and kicked turkeys, clubbed them with rods, and picked them up by the heads and shook them violently. The workers mock-raped the Turkeys and threw them like footballs.

The horrifically cruel treatment of the turkeys appeared to be the norm. Despite the blatant disregard for life at the catching facilities, Plainville CEO Matt Goodson released a statement that painted the company in a responsible and ethical light. He stated that Plainville had zero tolerance for such abuse and that the workers had been fired.

PETA has asked the Federal Trade Commission to prohibit Plainville from “using false or misleading claims in advertising its turkey products.” Despite the publicity surrounding the abuse, and being suspended from the Global Animal Partnership, the company continues to claim that its turkeys are “humanely raised” in a “stress-free environment.” As animal rights activists know however, respect for life is not compatible with the business of industrial farming. It’s probable that there are many other industrial farming facilities out there where animals are suffering horribly.

PETA has long been critical of the Global Animal Partnership’s humane certification, calling it misleading and insufficient. The organization has certified more than 4,000 farms in 11 countries. Plainville’s “earthwise” seal is not even an independent certification, it was invented by the company itself.

“Greenwashing” is used as a cover for cruelty, and people who buy cheap meat don’t ask questions. Meat-eating consumers who toss meat products into their supermarket baskets are satisfied with labels claiming humane certification and don’t inquire further. Those who choose not to eat meat on ethical grounds understand that the industrial farming model is cruel by nature. No matter how vehemently these companies promise to make animals’ “experience” of being raised and killed for meat stress-free and safe, it will not reflect reality.

A state police animal cruelty officer has confirmed that the investigation was “lengthy, detailed,” and that it involved “reviewing a lot of evidence at multiple locations.” Police said that the abuse took place at multiple farms in Chester, Cumberland, Franklin, Fulton, Perry and Union counties. 139 charges were filed, including 6 felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and 76 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty. According to PETA, this cruelty-to-livestock case has the most criminal counts they are aware of in their time reviewing such cases.

It is almost certain that this horrific cruelty is not limited to those who got caught. People should not be distracted by the “bad apples” theory that views the cruelty of these workers as individually motivated. This cruelty is part of the reality of meat production. Workers who kill animals for a living are more likely to become desensitized, traumatized and cruel (there has been plenty of research to show that this is the case).

PETA has organized protests outside Wegmans asking them to reconsider their ties with Plainville Farms. To learn more about PETA’s response to the protests and about how to volunteer, visit their website or contact local animal rights organizations in your area.

Read More: https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/11-turkey-farm-workers-charged-cruelty-caught-video-91103726

Finally, a step in the right direction. Iowa’s infamous “Ag Gag” law has been struck down as unconstitutional. This is a law that could fine and send animal activists to prison. It prevented free speech about animal mistreatment — even worker mistreatment on industrial farms. So many atrocities went unnoticed, so much cruelty was hidden behind a wall of silence.

Ag Gag laws are a way of protecting big agriculture at the expense of animals. Industrial farming is one of the most open atrocities of our times. Terrible conditions are allowed to persist, to protect profits. Many other states have ag gag laws, so this battle is not over. Now is a good time to get educated about ag gag laws and donate to further the efforts of organizations who fight these laws and support activists who are struggling with unfair charges.

The calf had been tossed into a pile of dead animals. Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) activists found her in this mass grave-site, plucked her out and carried her away. Before they could get her to a safe place, they were arrested and charged with felony “grand theft” for stealing “property” from the dairy farm.

Direct Action Everywhere activists have been instrumental in showing the world that cruelty is the inevitable byproduct of dairy farming with their photo and video recordings of awful conditions. Male calves are taken from their mothers, denied vital nutrients and kept in tiny excrement-filled pens, because they have no other use to the dairy industry besides meat. A great number of them die of diarrhea due to living in filthy conditions without adequate nourishment. Direct Action Everywhere activists showed that dairy farms were still flouting laws passed to protect male veal cows. The activists pointed out that these laws are not effective and they don’t protect all calves, like the female baby calf the activists named Angel. Industry profits override care, and what is called care is just the minimum standard the dairy industry can get away with. The activists have been arrested for their so-called “crimes.” In the meantime, the baby cow called Angel was left to her fate, to grow sicker and die. Please sign the petition to highlight this terrible injustice: https://www.facebook.com/directactioneverywhere/videos/506030299913168?source=global-email&campaign=dff-angel

An in-depth report from The Intercept:
https://theintercept.com/2018/10/08/california-prop-12-animal-welfare-dairy-calves/

Good news: the USDA listened to activists who urged them not to implement a disastrous plan to allow labs to regulate themselves on animal welfare. The USDA had proposed allowing the AAALAC (Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International) to police the Animal Welfare Act in labs. This “third party” is a private organization with council-members from the very facilities the organization is accrediting. The AAALC would have kept their findings private.

Organizing for Animals Helped Prevent this Disaster

Amongst other things, the USDA was swayed by a vast majority of public comments opposing the project. Recently, many changes by government agencies that would affect animals and the environment have been deliberately slipped under the radar or unaccompanied by a press release. Reports have been redacted or removed from the USDA website. When activists pushed back they kept the accreditation changes in the public eye and kept the heat on public officials, forcing them to reconsider. Victories like these shows that battles can be won. There are so many animals at risk of abuse, mistreatment and death. And, unbelievable as it may seem, sometimes the power to help animals lies in the hands of a few. That’s why it’s important to organize for animals. Donations, actions and staying informed make a difference.

More from the Washington Post on this story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2018/05/17/usda-may-warn-some-facilities-when-animal-welfare-inspectors-are-coming/?utm_term=.cdb79dd431c9