Support Biomedical Research

Dear [Lawmaker],

I am reaching out to you today as a member of the American biomedical research community engaged in animal research that helps both humans and our pets. I want to reiterate my strong support for the appropriate and ethical use of animals in research to help understand and treat diseases and improve the lives of patients and their families.
Animal research remains vital to our mission to understand diseases, discover targeted therapies, alleviate suffering, and improve quality of life. Unfortunately, many animal rights groups have engaged in campaigns of fear, threats, and disinformation with the single-minded goal of ending access to animals in life-saving research. If these groups succeed in persuading the federal government to end access to animal models, we may see a reduction in treatments for diseases and a myriad of other breakthroughs, as animal models play a major role in advancing biomedical research.
Biomedical research projects involving animals are governed by a strict structure of laws, regulations, and guidelines and continue to yield invaluable data in the process of discovering new therapies to treat, cure, and prevent disease. These studies involving animals are done only when necessary and provide the safety and efficacy measures required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before medications and treatments can proceed to human clinical trials. Registered institutions that conduct animal research in the U.S. have a review committee required by the federal Animal Welfare Act, which assesses proposed research studies involving animals to ensure that no alternatives to animal models are available, confirms the institution has not previously conducted the research, and ensures the use of animals is kept to the approximate number required for relevant research results. These institutions are subject to annual unannounced USDA inspections. Studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) also report to the NIH’s Office of Laboratory Welfare (OLAW).
The biomedical research community strongly supports robust oversight of animal research, including the laws, regulations, and institutional policies that ensure the humane treatment, welfare, and safety of animals utilized in scientific research. We encourage you to work with the scientific community to promote future advancements in research that enhance rather than undermine scientific innovation and urge you to support the use of animals in necessary, humane, and ethical biomedical research. Thank you for your consideration in supporting the advancement of science and the United States’ continued global leadership in biomedical research.

Sincerely,
______

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