Message to my next president: Ban animal testing nationwide

Dear Future President,

As an animal advocate and the president of my high school’s Protecting Animal Welfare club, I strongly urge you to sign a bill that bans animal testing nationwide. While I am pleased that the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act was passed last year, I am hoping you can take a step further and prevent animal testing.

I understand animal testing has helped design vaccinations for diseases such as smallpox and AIDS. However, in order for these tests to be conducted, animals have to undergo cruel conditions in the labs.

Most are placed in sterile, indoor environments where animals are forced to live in cages. Symptoms that animals go through in the labs can include nose-bleeding, abdominal pain and seizures, sometimes even leading to death.

In fact, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals discovered that more than 100 million animals are killed in U.S. laboratories each year.

According to The Humane Society of the United States, the U.S. government spends about $16 billion annually for animal testing at taxpayers’ expense. An immense portion of animal testing is also funded by the National Institute of Health, an organization that allocates 47% of its grant money to animal experimenters.

According to PETA, in 2019, more than 90% of NIH’s animal experiments fail to lead to treatments for humans. Additionally, more than 95% of pharmaceutical drugs that test safe and effective in animals failed when used on humans.

Overall, it is cruel to agonize animals for potential human benefit, especially when successful results are slim. Therefore, as our next president, I am pleading with you to pave the way for justice beyond the human species by prioritizing the need to put an end to animal testing.

Sincerely,

Lana Hy

Gabrielino High School

San Gabriel, Calif.