ONE REASON WHY I LIVE THE VEGAN LIFESTYLE:Animal Experimentation in the United States A Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! fact sheet The Facts About Animal Experiments Animal experimentation is a scandal that has been hidden from the American public. We have been lead to believe that the animals used in experiments are well treated and that the procedures performed on these animals are thoroughly regulated and governed by federal laws. Nothing could be further from the truth. Over 90% of the animals used in experimentation are purposely excluded from protection under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA -- the only federal law that governs animal experimentation). Rats, mice, birds, and many other species have been expressly eliminated from all safeguards. Violations of the Animal Welfare Act by labs have increased by over 90% in the last five years. The AWA places no real restrictions on what can be done to an animal during an experiment. Animals are routinely subjected to addictive drugs, electric shock, food & water deprivation, isolation, severe confinement, caustic chemicals, burning, blinding, chemical and biological weapons, radiation, etc. The "scientist" in question only has to say that a specific procedure is "necessary" for the experiment, and it is allowed. The goal is not to protect the animal; the goal is to insure that the experiment proceeds -- at any cost.The National Death Toll Recent (fiscal 2005) United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) statistics list a total of 1,177,566 (a one-year increase of 7%) primates, dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and other species as being subjected to experimental procedures. The species by species listings include: 66,610 dogs 57,531 primates 58,598 pigs 245,786 rabbits 22,921 cats 176,988 hamsters 64,146 other farm animals 32,260 sheep 231,440 other animals 221,286 guinea pigs However, this total is likely far from accurate. At no time have all laboratories in the U.S. reported their experimental totals. The total of non-reporting facilities has varied from 22 to 128 (out of approximately 1100). The species that are not covered by the Animal Welfare Act (rats, mice, etc.) are not even counted. Therefore, the total above ignores the majority of animals experimented upon in the U.S. The real number of animals experimented on in the U.S. each year is well over 20 million. Additionally, these statistics do not cover animals that are caged in laboratories but are being held for conditioning or breeding.For example, while the USDA reports the use of over 57,000 primates in labs, the actual total is probably more like 120,000. Where Does the Money Come From? Many federal agencies fund animal experiments including: the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ), and Office of Assistant Secretary of Health (OASH). During fiscal 2005 these seven agencies within the federal government funded over 28,937 projects involving experimentation on more than 27 different species including: macaque monkeys, squirrel monkeys, rats, mice, dogs, hamsters, guinea pigs, and cats. Use of these species in federally funded projects has increased 59% in the last ten years. Governmentfunded experiments in these species cost U.S. taxpayers over $12 billion annually. Animal Experimentation in the United States A Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! fact sheet Government Waste How does the federal government manage to spend so much money on animal experiments? Simple, it pays for the same experiment to be done over and over and over again. There are currently (for fiscal 2005) 1200 separate projects (costing a potential $495,600,000 per year) that examine drug addiction. 778 projects study neural information processing in 11 species costing an estimated $321,314,000. The list goes on and on and on. Even if this experimentation was worthwhile, why must we pay for it to be done over and over and over again? Who wants this duplication to continue? The table below contains estimates of federal funding for animal experiments at many well-known colleges and universities. Simple (again), hundreds of institutions and thousands of individuals make money from these experiments. Look at the table of approximations below for some examples. The bottom line is that the federal government currently supports an industry that squanders billions of dollars, kills tens of millions of animals, and is essentially unregulated. No experiment, no matter how painful, is illegal. The majority of animals used in experimentation receive absolutely no protection under current laws.University of CA, San Francisco $203,196,000 University of CA, Los Angeles $194,110,000 Harvard $441,273,869 Johns Hopkins University $256,886,000 Yale $199,066,000 Stanford $164,374,000 Vanderbilt $170,982,000 Emory University $239,303,364 Duke University $162,309,000 Baylor $173,047,000 University of Pennsylvania $256,060,000 University of Wisconsin, Madison $141,655,452 University of Washington, Seattle $418,889,748 University of Michigan $216,825,000 What YOU can do to Fight Animal Experimentation: 1. Read, copy, and distribute this fact sheet. 2. Contact your Senators and Representatives to ask for these things: A. Extend the protection of law to all species that are the victims of experimentation. B. Extend the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit: 1. The use of electric shock 2. Food and water deprivation 3. The use of extreme confinement, such as the primate restraint chair The Honorable ____________ U.S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 202-224-3121 www.house.gov Senator ____________________ U.S. Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 202-224-3121 www.senate.gov 3. Organize public events to expose abuses at facilities in your area. Use the Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! (SAEN) website: www.saenonline.org to investigate labs in your area. Contact SAEN for help with investigations or for event planning. 4. Write to your federal legislators to request a General Accounting Office (GAO) investigation of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded animal experimentation. 5. Send as large a tax-deductible donation as you can afford to Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! (SAEN) to support this campaign. Send contributions to: SAEN 1081-B St. Rt. 28 PMB 280 Milford, OH 45150 513-575-5517 www.saenonline.org University of CA, San Francisco: $166,156,140ENJOY YOUR CRUEL MAKE UP
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.... ""You must be the change you wish to see in the world" Gandhi
I love most music, here are a few: CURE THE CLASH D MODE STING THE POLICE BEATLES THE CLASH BERLIN BLONDIE MISSING PERSONS AMY LEEok I have to say INXS and U2 have been my favorite band since the early 80's I was so sadden with Michael Hutchence from Inxs died.( I cant really think its been 10 years).... and I am so proud what BONO has done with his time on this planet more of us need to do the same. You don't have to have star-doom ( LOL ) to take a stand in what you believe in!!!! MUSIC WITH A MEANING BEHIND IT~~ YOUNG BONOMY FAV ALBUM!Favorite Inxs songs Rollar Skating dancing on the Jetties and Don't Change!
I think the book besides the Bible that inspired me the most would be Notes to Myself: My Struggle to Become a Person. It was the first book I read outside of school books when I was 11. Hugh's words inspired me to write even at that young of age. This is the first page "If I had only. . .forgotten future greatness and looked at the green things and the buildings and reached out to those around me and smelled the air and ignored the forms and the self-styled obligations and heard the rain on the roof and put my arms around my wife...and it's not too late"
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