What happens to animals in research, after they are no longer needed for a study? In some cases, the research protocol does not call for euthanasia of the animals. Thus, rather than needlessly killing them...

The conclusion of a study almost always means euthanasia (from the Greek for “easy death”) for animals in research. As with all phases of research, there are moral, regulatory, and scientific imperatives to use the...

In December 2014, the USDA Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued its latest broadside against the inadequacy of the USDA’s enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). This sharply critical OIG report is the fourth...

On December 8, 2014, Air Transport International (ATI) was cited by the USDA for violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), after it transported 1,148 monkeys from China to Houston without providing food or water...

In a highly controversial decision, the animal care and use committee at the University of Wisconsin has approved an NIH-funded maternal deprivation study on newborn monkeys. This study echoes back to the notorious deprivation studies...

The use of random source (Class B) dogs for National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored research is finally coming to an end. As of October 1, 2014, NIH will not allow any new grants to purchase...

On November 4, 2014, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Administrator Kevin Shea filed a 10-page complaint alleging a plethora of willful violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) by...

In late May 2014, Minnesota made history by enacting a law that offers greater hope of adoption for dogs and cats in research. The bill was sponsored by the Beagle Freedom Project and authored by...

Determining the role of a drug or gene on our ability to learn is a truly difficult task. We all learn in slightly different ways. Add in disease states (such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s), or...

Is there something about the blood of a young organism that can improve the health of an older one? Three recent publications from Harvard and Stanford suggest there is such a factor. The notion of...