disphoria - thank you for the mark twain quote. i always loved him and now know one other very special reason why. he was way ahead of his time.

I think they should conduct these experiments on death row inmates instead. These animals dont deserve this.

Next time you get hungry for a sandwich, have a penutbutter and jelly!

Reading this quote gives me the feeling I'm drinking a fine and expensive wine.

This is probably my favorite Twain quote. The man was ahead of his time and I think he'd be appalled to see what we call "civilization" now.

Agreed.

There is a special Hell for every human being that abuses an animal.

PETA is the one lib organization that I love. Animals are much better souls than we are.

Bambi was a fictional cartoon, and PETA are known liars. Let's wait for the proper authorities to do an actual investigation before torturing the poor lab techs, shall we.

Jon: oh, great advice. "Let's wait for the proper authorities to investigate".... yeah, because they've already done such a great job inspecting this hell hole and enforcing the (laughable) Animal Welfare Act. If we waited for those clowns to do their job we'd still be waiting when hell freezes over. Peta, which does NOT lie, but is subject to lots of negative propaganda, is not going to sit around like some cowards might, but is going to actually DO something. They are pressing the government to do their jobs and prosecute the @!$%#s who run this @!$%#ty lab. I think that's commendable. Why don't you, Jon? Oh, yes, you want to hide behind your keyboard and say silly things like "Bambi is a cartoon". Well no @!$%#, Jon. What has that got to do with anything? Thanks for your wonderful words of wisdom. Dave Bernazani

and you journeyman also remain hidden behind a keyboard too. Just depends on which side of the fence you are standing on, huh?

I totally agree with your comment regarding these labs be monitored by animal welfare groups. Past experience showing continous mistreatment and cruelty and that it still continues, is showing us that these labs are not obeying the laws and that they continue to think they have every right to do what they are doing. Obviously we need to make sure they have inspectors 24/7 to guard these animals.

I also agree with your last comment. God gave us the dominion over animals and many people think that gives humans the right to do whatever to them. Wrong! God also gave us free will and how we treat animals is totally in our control. I am sure we will all be judged in how we treated his other creations.

GCPickle - do not agree with you that animals must be tested on for our health/safety. there are other ways to test products/medicine that do not involve animals, using technology. do agree with SEDGWICKGRAD that surely there is a special place in hell for people who mistreat animals and that includes trophy hunters.

There is no reason to do animal testing. Most of it is for cosmetics, vanity items. There is absolutely no reason any animal must suffer for humanity. What makes humans so darn special that we can just use and abuse animals for our own desires? The animals have feelings and form family units and bonds just like humanity does. Humans are no better and have no rights to their bodies to use with thoughtlessness and cruelty.

And please don't give this "Magic Sky Guy" gave dominion over animals to humans. That was written by humans as an excuse to use and abuse animals.

That being said, I would not necessarily believe anything PETA said either. They are total idiots and manufacture lies to push their crazy agenda. I would believe ASPCA only and not HSUS, another crackpot organization.

totally agree with your comment regarding these labs be monitored by animal welfare groups. Past experience showing continous mistreatment and cruelty and that it still continues, is showing us that these labs are not obeying the laws and that they continue to think they have every right to do what they are doing. Obviously we need to make sure they have inspectors 24/7 to guard these animals.

I have to disagree with you there. Thats like asking the pro-life groups to monitor and police abortion clinics. I am disgusted how these animals are being treated though and I think the company would be much better off, hiring people who love and care about animals.

This article made me sick to my stomach. I cannot understand why human beings feel it is their right to use animals and abuse animals in any way they see fit and for purposes that are, quite frankly, vain in their very nature. I swear that the number of events involved horrid abuse of children and animals seems to be skyrocketing of late. I don't understand. . .I will NEVER understand. There has to be some sort of break with reality. . .a break with normalcy and common decency. . .a break with ones own conscience to do such things. Is there any other plausible explanation? My heart is broken for these defenseless animals. My heart breaks even more for the condition of humanity these days. We've gone lower than I ever thought possible. Cry for mankind. . .we are REVOLTING creatures!

There is no reason to do animal testing. Most of it is for cosmetics, vanity items. There is absolutely no reason any animal must suffer for humanity.

It would be nice if it were true, but unfortunately you cannot test therapies in a petri dish. Animal models are essential to medical research. Without them, you would have a lot less therapies and a lot more human and animal deaths (animals benefit from medicine as well). The vast majority of biomedical labs using animals are already monitored by several different authorities ranging from government to national and local organizations.

OK. I am absolutely sick to my stomach, especially knowing that this scenario repeats itself all over the world with different types of animals. Abuse of these monkeys is particularly distressing just knowing that they share 98% of our own DNA, form family bonds and units and essentially feel everything we do!! Isolation is cruel in itself before adding all of the other abuses. I realize that some research is necessary as new drugs are tested for people and pets. However, I don't believe exposing an animal to 300X the strength of something we may get in a cosmetic item just to see if it gets cancer or reacts in some other way. I can't help but wonder what is wrong with the person that "stuffs" a monkey in a cage with a partition enough to injure it. What are they thinking? Gee....gotta get home for that drink or...hey, I'm gonna be late for my kid's soccer practice? Really, what could be that important or is it just that they are hiring abusive people who actually enjoy this? This world has more stresses and abuses than I can ever remember and I agree with other posters that there is a special brand of hell out there for these people. Whoever you people are, shame on you and remember that karma and justice will come sooner or later. Something greater than yourselves knows you did this, and so do those who passed before you (including everything and everyone you abused, tortured, or killed) and I hope your evil souls suffer for the rest of your life and for all of eternity. As a final comments, there must be cameras going 24/7 in these places to help ensure animal safety.

Animals do NOT need to be experimented on. The NIH added a (paraphrased) single, telling line to their protocols this year...they stated that non-human primates are NOT a viable substitue for humans when testing drug safety & efficacy. Companies do it this way becuase its cheaper than the humane alternatives where animals are not involved.

WTF is the goal of hooking up an animal surgically and pumping ice cold water through it for months?

Sounds like the Auschwitz mentality to me. This makes me sick.

JS, Baltimore,

Try getting a new investigational drug into a clinical trial without doing animal studies. The FDA would never allow it. All that line says is that you cannot trust that the results of the animal experiments to be equivalent in humans - not that animal testing is unecessary.

Korean Veterinarians in USA are experimenting pets, because they never got any proper clinical training in small animals, and they usually don't like dogs...I heard some of them flew to Seoul, in order to enjoy "dog-meat"soup as an aphrodisiac.

more at www.uglyKoreans.com

another link:

I can't even finish reading the comments. I cry for the poor innocent animals. I love them all. Humans excepted.

I wonder where it will be that a human will be freezing cold for months at an end, so that it becomes necessary to test this on an animal? What knowledge do we gain from this?

The monkeys are not blue from being "fed ice cold saline solution". Monkeys, these particular monkeys, have blue tinted flesh under their hair. They've always been blue tinted and always will be.

As for the listed abuses, they are not common incidents and any person found to be abusing or mistreating an animal would be fired. Period.

Don't let this disgruntled former worker feed you a pack of lies. That's what they're counting on in order to get their revenge to a company that probably let them go for this very same mistreatment.

Screw you! How could you work there? How do you sleep at night? You sicken me, "Monkeyhandler"

Maybe we can test on.

That was for the retired 40 person.

I applaud PETA again, first the CIRCUS now labs. Even though they have a bad rap it appears they are doing these good deeds! W T F is wrong with people?

PETA is a terrorist organization. They have for decades tried to frighten people into doing things their way. They should be shunned. Everything they say is suspect.

Animals in the wild do not die peacefully in their sleep surrounded by their animal friends. They die slowly and painfully of starvation, untreated injuries or disease, or being eaten alive by predators. This is the context in which we should view animal experimentation. Bambi is fiction.

Janet - PETA has to resort to scare tactics, at times, to just get people's attention...especially people with your cold and heartless attitude. Yes, animals die in the wild all the time from various causes: as food for other animals, starvation, fighting, disease, etc. I don't think anyone would deny that this happens - the same goes for human beings. However, for a human being to knowingly inflict pain and torture on any living creature, people included, requires a lack of total morality and respect towards life. Humans are causing this pain to another living creature, whose only desire is to live. I am absolutely appalled at your lack of basic humanity and feeling towards others - animal or human. You are the reason PETA exists.

Actually, we do get visits from Mars, quite often in fact. The come here in the form of meteorites. So far, nothing in them as come out and looked back at us. Not one microbe. Certainly nothing with eyes or tentacles.

We might have needed animals for research in older days (and in those days, we knew much less about animals, their intelligence and their ability to feel, emotions and pain, etc.), but we've come to an age where most of the research and testing could be just as competently done without animals. Furthermore, there are standards to use animals in more humane ways, which are not followed here. Isn't that what civilization is all about?

Animal testing is the hard proof. There really aren't any other methods that are proven or as widely accepted. People keep saying there are, but there really aren't. And if there were, don't you think scientists would have adopted them? I mean, these aren't horrible monsters, I really doubt they'd keep using an out dated system that involved tedious work on live creatures if they didn't have to.

And the amount of tests they do has actually dropped off quite a bit. We have gotten much more efficient about going through animal testing, but it's a very necessary step. I sure as hell don't want anything put in me that hasn't been tried on animals first.

"...Animal testing is the hard proof. There really aren't any other methods that are proven or as widely accepted. People keep saying there are, but there really aren't...." -- Show us some recent documents to support your claim.

You were the one that claimed that animal testing was antiquated and that "we've come to an age where most of the research and testing could be just as competently done without animals."

But if you insist. I found a few examples of testing that does not involve animals, the most promising to be human tissue cultures. But based on the summary... it's not really widely applicable yet. The second closest thing would probably be microdosing. Except the technique itself is still experimental. It's only been tested in a handful of trials. Oh, and you still need a single dose trial in animals to progress to human testing.

There are ethical ways to test on animals. Torturing them is not one of them.

American

What types of testing can be done in place of using animals? I find it hard to believe that all the tests done on animals can be done in a dish.

Some of the testing is done because of the FDA, you need proof that a drug worked on an animal, before it can be tested on humans. The trial lawyers are also to blame for excessive tests. If a drug causes serious damage to a human, you can bet there will be a law suit. In court the drug company will need to show proof of sufficient animal testing.

American

What types of testing can be done in place of using animals? I find it hard to believe that all the tests done on animals can be done in a dish.

Some of the testing is done because of the FDA, you need proof that a drug worked on an animal, before it can be tested on humans. The trial lawyers are also to blame for excessive tests. If a drug causes serious damage to a human, you can bet there will be a law suit. In court the drug company will need to show proof of sufficient animal testing.

Chemo kills at the same rate as the scientists performing the cruel procedures on these innocent creatures. I know, believe me...not one of my relatives has lived after undergoing chemo. I would run for the hills before I would run for chemo...or better, I would run for eastern medicine practices. I would like to take each and every one of these @!$%#s hurting these poor animals out back and string them up, taking away their freedom and inflicting pain on them for the rest of their lives. I hope all humans who hurt animals die a slow and lonely painful death.

Yeah, that's why no one ever dies from legal, as-prescribed prescription drug use, because animal testing works. This was a long bunch of crap, but still complete crap.

As a DES baby I can assure that animal testing doesn't work. Not only to the animals pay the price but so do the people then given the drugs.

Testing on animals is of no value. It does not make you safer. It only causes suffering.

Roid.

Predictably, there are always these kind of people with these kind of smart-alec comments. They just can't stand comments from people who have more compassion for animals other than themselves, including fellow human beings.

Well, ain't you the monkey's uncle. Hope you didn't sprain your arm patting yourself on the back. The idea of your own guilt over eating meat is hilarious, and strongly suggest the problem is with you and you alone.

I would probably still be a carnivore. I personally have no qualms about beheading a chicken or butchering a cow or pig. I'm higher up the food chain, a predator. Asking me to feel bad would be like asking a lion to feel sorry for that gazelle its about to pounce on; completely unnatural.

Poo... Yes, having shame for our actions is always hilarous for those that choose to not ponder the results of their own actions, because it may mean they might have to make that uncomfortable move towards change. For the selfish and dull-witted, ignorance is bliss. The problem is not with me and me alone. Im not the only one who knows what goes on behind the slaughterhouse doors that struggles to give up the meat and potatoes diet I grew up on. Its more shameful to not even bother to want to know what goes on behind those doors; to harbor the trait of willful ignorance. I eat FAR less meat than the Average American - BECAUSE I work on trying to not eat food from animals raised in hellish conditions. Its hard because I live in an urban environment, but I do manage to get eggs from chickens that get to run around under the sun as they please. Best eggs Ive ever eaten. I dont consider it patting myself on the back. But let me tell you something you big brown piece of poo - people who were raised eating meat, and stop eating meat because they become aware of the suffering and the horrific conditions of the slaughterhouse - those people have all the right in the world to pat themselves on the backs - because they are the better people amongst us, rather than those content to gorge themselves on Chicken McNuggets and Whoppers, and dont want to hear anything about the reality of that food because they are too slovenly and self-interested to even care about the greater implications of their flesh feast.

LadyAnnabelle - I too could slaughter an animal if hungry enough. But thats not the reality today. Do you understand that animals are slaughtered on conveyor belts? Belts that run so fast, several animals are skinned alive because the killer didn't hit the "sweet spot" to cause death? Are you aware that these slaughter houses are filled with steam, rising up from the heat of the massive puddles of blood that the slaughtermen stand in? These are not bucolic farms any longer with Farmer John running after the chicken to chop its head off on the stump... The rate of slaughter is immense, all to feed our maws with popcorn chicken and whoppers.

Yeah, and that is rather unfortunate. Though that's more of an argument for more slaughter plants, so that they don't have to move at such a fast rate. But I mostly just feel bad for the workers having to stand in all that blood... that cannot smell pleasant.

Oddly enough, we are probably the kindest predators to our prey. Think of wasps that lay their young in live spiders and let them be eaten alive as the larva hatch. Or snakes, who often eat their prey alive and let it be crushed to death as they swallow.

My point is, it is unfortunate that some animals have to suffer for our food. And maybe we should build more slaughter houses to ease the burden on existing ones so that no one has to rush any throat slicing.

StengthInNumbers. I am just guessing, but could you possibly be a science fiction writer?

Strength, you are right about slaughter houses, overconsumption of meat, etc. My wife, myself and 2 kiddos went pure vegan for a year because of an article I read in Forbes. Wasn't just about the acts of the slaughter houses (gross, of course) but was also about the alarming number of animals being slaughtered to feed the masses. So, we all went vegan for a year. The wife bought books on cooking, we researched and she did an absolutely awesome job of feeding us very well with tasty vegan meals. Even Thanksgiving and Christmas diners were picture-taking quality. Thought I might lose some weight by not eating meat - nope, didn't lose a pound, the food was good.

However, even with all the work we did (mostly the wife), we could see that it wasn't ideal for the kiddos. The kiddos were on board with us, doing school vegetarian meals, etc. and we did not force them, not at all. The kiddos growing, exercising and all that goes with it - it got to where we could tell that the vegan lifestyle just didn't seem healthy.

We ended the year feeling very good about our efforts, having more respect for hard-core vegans (it's a huge amount of work) and feeling that the human body most likely doesn't operate best being vegan. However, we did cut waaaay back on our meat consumption and we encourage those around us to eat less meat. As we know, most people eat much more than they need.

Point is, don't bash yourself for eating meat. Just eat as little as you can. You can also connect with others and go in on a side of beaf that was farm raised. More expensive, but better, better for you and doesn't contribute to the slaughter houses. Bottom line, the slaughter houses will continue at the speed they are even if more open up. It's about money and time is money. If the idea of slaughter houses bother you, best to not give them your money if you can help it.

You mention not wanting to work in a pharmeceutical company because you don't want to be a cog in the brutal machine. Makes sense. Just a thought: If you were to work within such a company, perhaps you could set some change in motion, plant some seeds from within. If enough people were to effect change from within, it could be incredible. Imagine it like a virus.

There is no such thing as humane killing. How can you even write such a thing without your logic meter exploding? Humane slaughter, humane killing....it's all Orwellian, truth-denying garbage. Before you even tell yourself how bad you feel about eating meat, you should feel bad about ever putting that kind of amoral doublespeak into the universe.

And don't call human beings "illegals," it only makes you look like Fox-ist trailer trash. I am a vegetarian of almost 20 years and I know that slaughterhouse conditions are not down to the workers, but the agribusinesses that exploit them nearly as badly as they do the animals they kill -- inhumanely. With the advent of low-cost labor from undocumented workers conditions have deteriorated overall, and slaughter doesn't just kill animals, but people.

"...This PETA guys make all this noise about animal abuse - I bet 90% of them eat meat. Show me the statistics or prove me wrong..."

-- I don't think you get the point here. The point here is not "killing or eating meat" but "abuse" which cause unnecessary suffering to the animals in concern (fear, pain, etc.). Even the food industry is supposed to follow certain regulation with regard to how animals are slaughtered to satisfy human appetites.

American Fan and Others...

I get the point, make no mistake about it. The point I am trying to make is, why is that Americans (Westerners) in general make such a big deal of animal abuse in labs, when there is so much abuse in farms that grow chicken, pigs or cattle. Read the recent news on McDonald's Chicken farms for example.

Extending that argument - anybody who eats dead animals (beef or pork) or chicken or sea food are basically supporting killing of an inferior life force indirectly (because we are the best species on earth), have NO moral authority to complain about animal abuse. I do not believe in kosher or hallal and this man-made rules of killing animals in a certain way...(all that is crap, sorry folks)..

Last year I saw ex-Bond Pierce Brosnan complaining about Whale abuse or killing off the coast of Japan (he was just doing an ad for some company). That is joke too in my mind...

We (humans) as superior species, need to respect all other inferior species and not hurt them. Nature provides enough food to all of us.. and the extra protein that one gets from meat can be obtained with plant based grains etc.

Anyway my 2 cents. And the only place where you find maximum vegetarians in the world - South India, the spiritual capital of the world. I was surprised to learn that more than 50% of so called Buddhists, East of India eat beef, pork etc. But most Buddhists in India are vegetarians...

Anyway, I am not trying to convert PETA guys or other Americans to become vegetarians...but PETA or other meat eating folks complaining about animal abuse does not make sense at all.

ms - most people don't know about factory farms and slaughterhouses. And don't want to know.

It's one thing to eat an animal humanely killed. Quite another to tolerate the torture of lab animals - not humane treatment even, but sadistic treatment by the workers - because they can.

Shut them down.

ms, I've seen this angle of arguments in many other places. I agree with what you said about being best not to consume animals for food. But I'm a realist and I know it'll be a long way before everyone becomes a vegan, if that ever happens. I think to say that all the people who happen not to be vegans but who care about other forms of animal abuse are hypocritical and have no right to complain is just not very helpful. There just won't be enough people around to speak for these helpless animals and they already are very, very under-represented.

My thinking is, you don't need to be a saint to teach your kids good behaviors and habits.

Yes, why trust PETA and WWF when you can trust FOX News.

Animals are humane. Theres countless stories of one defending another, of cross-species adoption, of grieving over a fallen family member. go to YouTube and do a search for this: geko saves friend from snake. Maybe that will help you to see that many animals are capable of risking their own lives to save others.

Did you know that members of the great ape family will also attack nearby groups where they will rape and kill the other members? And not for any survival reasons either. Or dolphins. They'll also rape other dolphins... specifically male ones. Now, I don't think that has any purpose other than they appear to be enjoying doing it.

Animals are not nice to each other. Look at the scars on pack animals from fighting among themselves. Even bloody zebras will fight each other to the death. That's hardly humane.

td-4056507 - you are totally ignorant. you certainly can reason with a gorilla; they are highly evolved and peaceful unless threatened. EVER HEARD OF KOKO? guarantee she's more intelligent than you.

I have to agree that animals could be just as inhumane as human beings. The only difference is that human beings have the capacity and tools to become more humane, while animals do not. But it looks like a lot of people think that would be against human progression!

TD you miss the point. Animals in the natural world treat each other with balance. HUMANS DO NOT! HUMANS are suppose to be care takers not abusers; we actually have the ability to do this so we should not harm these animals and we should have strong regulations to prevent this and prevent the destruction of the natural world. Apparently people are not only inhumane but lower in the level of being "awake" to the beauty that is around us. We just keep destroying and justify it for longer life, blah, blah, blah, everyone is going to die: it is how you live that truly shows the type of person you are.

Totally agree - Humane treatment is not part of the rest of the animal world. Wolves kill to teach their young and even kill for pleasure.

Here's the bugger though: Humans aren't wolves. Humans aren't really part of the rest of the animal world at all. Not even close.

The rest of the animal world doesn't have houses, cars, computers and the countless other things we do. Humans should treat the rest of the animal world better, because we can.

True, I remember that case quite well. To take adoptable dogs & cats and euthanize them illegally & dumping the bodies in black plastic bags in a way that the city thought there was a pet serial killer & staked out the dumpsters. (Google it folks) On the other hand it takes a special type of person to go into Charles River Labs and pose as a caretaker or fake credentials to get into a lab, then spend time watching the offenses (and many are egregious) & reporting them. I couldn't hold my temper if I saw someone take a cat out of a cage and slam them against a wall to subdue it. That type of thing needs to be exposed. Inspections & IACUC committees are a farce, surprise inspections are not surprises at all.

Which has what, exactly, to do with the article?

You do realize those folks from PETA were ACQUITTED, right?

So... instead of encouraging science, you encourage the noise machine that contributes next to nothing as far as progress goes.

There is something very wrong with that.

There are ethical ways of making scientific advancement. Torturing animals is not one of them.

Lady - the lab workers are doing the abuse. Research could be more humane - they choose, probably to shield and protect their own psyches, the animals as "things" - they must be doing that. Or they would figure out a way not to brutalize, further, their subjects.

It's like the NC lab shut down last year, after a PETA investigator took VIDEO pictures - a cat allowed to grasp its cage, so its claws could be ripped out. A dog's teeth removed with the lab worker saying the anesthetic was "probably outdated" as it squirmed and cried out. The dogs, cats and rabbits were all being abused - the medical people from VA that ran it feigned ignorance - the place shut down. There is NO EXCUSE for mistreatment of lab animals.

Yea I think we could test on people instead since people want the miracles, they should pay? Who is they? Let us start with the child molesters, Hmmm?

We can and should figure out a way not to test against the will of the animal, end of story!

That is a great idea - I have been thinking that for years - let criminals really pay their debt to society. Experiment on them not innnocent animals.

Oh, so we should follow Hitler and use our "undesirables" as medical specimens?

Sieg heil!

a pedophile is a lot different from an undesirable. gee, lady annabelle seems like such a sweet name for such cold statements.

Well their our "undesirables." And Hitler also used prisoners, not just Jews. And not just Hitler. Lots of dictators have used prisoners for medical experiments. Not just political prisoners either. Besides, what if that person turns out to be innocent?

a pedophile is a lot different from an undesirable. gee, lady annabelle seems like such a sweet name for such cold statements.

LadyAnnabelle, since the economy is depressed, we will be glad to employ you to sort through the pictures and videos verifying these people's guilt as they are caught in the act. Problem solved. You do your part, we'll see to it the testing is humane.

So let me get this straight.

If you've broken the law... screw you.

And how is that better than using animals who are literally bred for testing?

Someone must have a mink coat hanging in the hall closet...

I'm not going to argue for or against abortion, because that's not what this article is about, but I think there's one huger difference. These animals do feel fear and pain. On the other hand, unborn fetuses do not.

really? how do you know that?

American Fan -- you're wrong. Ever see any videos taken of partial-term live fetuses writhing when they're being cut out of a womb, piece by piece, or being injected with sterile saline to kill them? It's not pretty. Better check your facts.

Exactly how did this topic twist into abortion??? Why don't you take your topic elsewhere? It is disturbing to see these posts morph into something completely unrelated!

Jackie how is this unrelated??? Some view a treatment of aborting an unborn baby as cruel too. Too many get upset over the abuse of an animal while they ignore what their own species is doing to their own kind. So yes these two are related and go together. Can't be kind to animals and kill babies and claim to be moral. Maybe you can justify killing a baby who also has no choice in the matter but bitch about animals being tested on but I can't do either.