In 2006, The HSUS worked hard to protect animals used in research, testing and education and to promote alternative methods. Below are a few examples where The HSUS' efforts helped to move these issues forward. In many of these cases, HSUS constituents helped to make a difference, through timely calls and emails to decision-makers. 

Animal Testing
Animals in Education and Training
Chimpanzees in Research
Dealers of "Random-Source" Dogs and Cats
Pain & Distress Campaign
HSUS in the media

Animal Testing

• As a result of a formal proposal from The HSUS, which was supported by thousands of letters from HSUS constituents, the search for alternatives to distressful animal testing of Botox® Cosmetic is now a high priority of the federal government's  Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods. As a first step in this search, ICCVAM and its European counterpart (European Centre for the Validation of Alterative Methods) held an international workshop on alternatives to the LD50 Test for testing Botox and other products/samples that contain Botox's active ingredient, Botulinum toxin.

Animals in Education and Training

• With strong support from The HSUS and our constituents, New Jersey enacted a state law protecting the rights of students who wish to perform an alternative to animal dissection. The HSUS had testified in favor of the bill and asked constituents to write to N.J. state legislators to let them know they support dissection choice. After the bill's passage, The HSUS participated in the New Jersey Science Convention to make sure teachers were informed of the new law and to provide practical information on dissection alternatives.

Chimpanzees in Research

• As a result of a full-page advertisement in The New York Times and other actions, The HSUS prompted over 16,000 people to write letters to the U.S. government on behalf of chimpanzees in research

Dealers of "Random-Source" Dogs and Cats 

• The HSUS championed federal legislation that would end the selling of pet dogs and cats by "Class B" dealers for use in biomedical experiments and in training and education. The HSUS held press conferences, ran a full-page ad in The New York Times featuring the issue prominently, prompted thousands of constituents to write to their legislators about this issue, and assembled documentation that the majority of the nation's veterinary schools and leading research universities are able to carry out their research and training without the use random-source dogs and cats from Class B dealers.

Pain & Distress Campaign

• The HSUS received copies of thousands of research facility reports in our lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture's refusal to disclose annual pain and distress reports from research facilities.
• The HSUS published a summary of our international workshop on pain and distress in a leading journal for laboratory animal personnel (Lab Animal).

HSUS in the Media (a few examples):

• The HSUS purchased 2 full-page ads in The New York Times, challenging the status quo on several animal research issues. The first ad invited concerned readers to take action on four issues: chimpanzees in research, animals used in product testing, animal dissection, and pets funneled into research. The second ad focused exclusively on chimpanzees in research.
• HSUS staff were quoted in Nature, a leading scientific journal, when it ran articles about the animal research controversy and problems with carbon dioxide euthanasia.
• HSUS vice president for animal research issues, Dr. Martin Stephens, was quoted in a front-page story on animal research in The New York Times, which also featured his comments as the newspaper’s “quote of the day.”