Cats and Dogs Are Used in Experiments, Too—Help Save Them Today!

Posted by Calvin on March 20, 2024

After a hard day at school or work, there’s always someone who can brighten your mood: your beloved cat or dog. Our animal companions are constant sources of love and often provide the support we need to get through our toughest times. Your cat or dog no doubt loves living with you in their permanent home, but they could just as easily have ended up in a barbaric laboratory.

Animals in these facilities are forced to endure agonizing experiments and killed for pointless studies. Many cats and dogs are bred for experiments, and some shelters still sell these types of animals to laboratories. 😨

Tens of thousands of cats and dogs are imprisoned right now in laboratories across the country. Humans put them through frightening, painful, and totally unnecessary experiments. The only difference between these animals and your cat or dog is their luck. Let’s take a look at the lives of cats and dogs in laboratories.

CATS IN LABORATORIES

Experimenters in U.S. laboratories abuse more than 19,000 cats every year—in addition to the tens of thousands who are preserved and sent to schools for classroom dissection. These cats are just as deserving of fulfilling lives and loving homes as the feline companions who purr on our laps.

The University of Utah

A PETA undercover investigator discovered that the University of Utah (the U) obtained hundreds of homeless cats from local animal shelters to use in deadly experiments. One pregnant cat gave birth to eight kittens the day the U bought her. Experimenters injected a chemical into the kittens’ brains and killed them all.

The U bought another cat named Robert, drilled a hole in his skull, and attached electrodes to his brain. After a powerful PETA campaign that shined a light on this grotesque mistreatment, the U announced that it would stop buying animals from shelters for experiments. And as a result of pressure from PETA, Robert got out of the lab and into a loving home. PETA also worked with state legislators to pass a law that stopped shelters from being forced to sell dogs and cats to laboratories.

The University of Wisconsin–Madison

A PETA investigation into the University of Wisconsin–Madison found that experimenters put cats through sheer torture. They drilled holes in cats’ skulls and implanted electrodes in their brains and steel coils in their eyes. They intentionally deafened and killed many of them, and at least one cat—named Double Trouble—woke up during a surgery in which experimenters cut into her head. Following our campaign to expose and end this cruelty, the embattled laboratory closed its doors and released several cats for adoption.

Professional Laboratory and Research Services

It’s not just universities that run these horror shows. PETA’s undercover investigation into a disgusting facility called Professional Laboratory and Research Services (PLRS) in North Carolina uncovered shocking cruelty. In one test, experimenters put a chemical on cats’ skin, knowing full well that it had given them seizures when they had first applied it earlier that day. They also screamed at the cats and dragged the terrified animals out of cages by the scruff of the neck.

Just one week after we released our exposé, PLRS surrendered nearly 200 dogs and more than 50 cats and shut its doors and—for the first time in U.S. history—workers were indicted on felony cruelty charges for abusing and neglecting animals in a laboratory. 🎉

DOGS IN LABORATORIES

Being “man’s best friend” doesn’t make dogs immune to cruel experiments. U.S. laboratories torment almost 65,000 dogs every year, locking them in cages and performing excruciating experiments on them.

The University of Utah

PETA’s undercover investigation into the U found that in addition to buying cats, the school was getting homeless dogs from local animal shelters to use in experiments. Protests, phone calls, and e-mails from PETA and our supporters got the university to end this shameful practice. PETA even helped rescue a dog named Sheena just as she was about to undergo a horrifying experiment.

Ohio State University

Vivisector George Billman, working out of Ohio State University, forced surgically manipulated dogs to run on a treadmill until they had a heart attack and collapsed. Instead of giving them medical treatment, he killed them so the damage to their heart tissue could be studied.

The University of Pennsylvania

We think of puppies as adorable animals nobody would want to hurt, but all animals are treated like objects when they’re used in experiments. University of Pennsylvania experimenters bred puppies to have an eye disease that leads to blindness, cut out their eyes, and killed them during a violent study. 😢

Professional Laboratory and Research Services

PETA’s undercover investigation into PLRS also exposed sickening treatment of dogs. PLRS workers confined dogs to cages for years, either to use them repeatedly in tests or to infest them with worms for a future experiment. These vulnerable dogs suffered with oozing sores, pus-filled teeth, and bloody infections without receiving proper care. We’re glad that as a result of our investigation, this hellhole was shut down.

HOW TO HELP CATS AND DOGS

Dogs and cats need you to take action to help stop them from being imprisoned, tortured, and killed by humans in laboratories. You have the power to help mobilize the public, make bold statements, and convince laboratories to stop testing on animals. 💪

Young people can make a huge difference for animals in labs. Get inspired by this massive PETA victory that owes a ton of its success to high school and college students who took action:

Texas A&M University

A laboratory at Texas A&M University used to breed golden retrievers to develop canine muscular dystrophy, which can make it really hard for dogs to walk, play, and even swallow. After PETA released footage showing these dogs struggling to survive, thousands of supporters, including many college students, sprang into action.

By protesting on campus, disrupting sporting events, and flooding Texas A&M with over 6 million messages, our campaign forced the school to end its breeding program, shut down the failed lab, and give dozens of dogs the freedom they deserved.

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If it upsets you to think about how much your animal companion would suffer if they were tortured and traumatized in an experiment, extend that compassion to all species. Animals abused in laboratories are just as deserving of fulfilling lives as those who live in our homes.