News

The beginning of a new year is a special time—a clean slate that brings with it the opportunity to re-evaluate what matters most to us.

2020 was a year filled with challenges, both for people and for the animals we have vowed to protect. We at NAVS hope that as you begin 2021, one of your resolutions is to make an even bigger commitment to be a strong advocate for animals. They need our help now more than ever.

While public support for animal experimentation has been decreasing in recent years, as people become increasingly aware of the scientific and ethical issues surrounding animal experimentation, millions of animals are experimented on in the name of science each year.

With the growing recognition that data produced in animal models may be irrelevant for humans, and that the rate of scientific discoveries may actually be enhanced by the use of more modern human-relevant cell- and computer-based approaches, we must strengthen our commitment to ending the unnecessary suffering of animals.

This year, by resolving to be strong animal advocates, we must ensure that our voices are heard by those who can enact change: regulatory agencies, funding agencies, corporations, policy makers and others. We need to continue to strongly advocate that our taxpayer dollars not be spent on animal experiments. Instead, we should focus on the development and use of innovative, human-relevant models that can replace the use of animal models—such as those that NAVS supports through the International Foundation for Ethical Research. Just because researchers can use animals in their experiments does not mean they should.

Let’s make 2021 count for animals. Make a new year’s resolution to be an even stronger animal advocate than you are today—and together, we will work toward ending unnecessary animal experiments.