The Future Holds Animal-Free Research – PETA Joins a Virtual Conference to Discuss It
The Place: Maastricht, the Netherlands
The Event: 11th World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences
The Purpose: Thousands of scientists will be attending this year’s virtual conference to hear from scientists working at PETA and our international affiliates on matters ranging from the scientific and ethical concerns regarding inflicting permanent brain damage on primates to toxicity testing in rabbits.
What’s the Conference About?
At the world’s premier conference for humane, animal-free research, scientists working at PETA and our international affiliates will highlight the mounting scientific evidence for animal sentience. They will showcase the successful efforts to end animal tests in the food and beverage industry worldwide, discuss the ethical ramifications of the high rate of untreated pain in animals used in laboratories, and expose the limitations of animal use, among other pressing topics.
Did you know that PETA and our international affiliates have more scientists working on non-animal testing methods than any other animal protection organisation? And we’re so proud to share our work at the premier conference on modern research. None of it would be possible without our intelligent and compassionate scientists.
Scientists at PETA and our international affiliates work hard to create a future where no animals are treated like disposable test tubes or beakers. This conference is a chance for this dedicated team to showcase their achievements to the scientific community – we send them a huge virtual round of applause for leading the way in this field.
What Will Happen at the Conference?
The conference will screen the award-winning film Test Subjects, which profiles three PETA US scientists who faced pressure in graduate school to experiment on animals. Scientists working at PETA and our international affiliates will also present details on the Research Modernisation Deal, a common-sense plan to phase out the use of ineffective animal tests in the EU, India, the UK, and the US.
The scientists are also chairing four sessions and are involved in the presentation of more than 20 posters or oral presentations.
- Political Campaigning: Where Scientific and Ethical Arguments Meet Public Policy
This talk discusses the elimination of animal testing in a world where many stakeholders have a vested interest in defending the status quo.
- Modernizing Biomedical Research and Regulatory Policies to Advance Human Health
This poster offers a robust blueprint on translating the limitations of animal use and the increasing availability of human-relevant biotechnology into actions aimed at eliminating animal experimentation.
- The Rodent in the Room: Considering Sentience in Research Programs Using Mice and Rats
This poster showcases how the mounting scientific evidence for sentience in animals commonly used in experimentation must be considered in harm/benefit analyses of biomedical research.
- Global Effort to End Animal Testing for Health Claims of Foods and Beverages
This poster highlights the successful efforts of PETA and our affiliates to persuade food and beverage companies to stop conducting tests on animals in order to make health claims about their products.
- International Harmonization of Non-Animal Methods for Biomedical Training
This poster shares information about the cost-effective, human-relevant technological advancements that can replace the millions of dogs, cats, rabbits and other animals used in biomedical training every year.
- The Problem of Pain in Animal Experimentation
This poster explores the scientific and ethical ramifications of the high rate of untreated pain in animals used in experiments.
- Certain Harms and Uncertain Benefits in Animal Models for the Study of Human Depression and Anxiety
This poster critiques several harmful and commonly used animal models of anxiety and depression, including the forced swim test, the tail suspension test, and the elevated plus maze.
- Ethical and Scientific Concerns Regarding the Continued Use of Experimentally Induced Brain Injuries in Primates
This poster discusses whether inflicting permanent, debilitating brain damage on primates is ethically or scientifically justifiable.
There’s a Better Way – and PETA Has Found It
Superior human-relevant, cutting-edge tools are the future, and we’re eager to work with the global research community to advance their use. Testing on animals is not only cruel but also wasteful – of time, money, and lives.
Help animals who suffer in laboratories by supporting our Research Modernisation Deal, a practical strategy for optimising research to cure disease by investing in animal-free methods that are relevant to humans.
