Put to the Test: Tomfoolery and PETA’s Powerful Call Against Animal Experiments
PETA and poet, author, and filmmaker Tomfoolery have teamed up to call for an end to the poisoning and killing of animals in cruel tests. Tomfoolery’s latest poem, “Put to the Test”, takes readers into the future, where experiments on animals are but “a stain on our memory” never to be repeated. Join PETA and Tom in making this vision a reality. Take a moment to reflect on the millions of animals enduring terrifying experiments at this very moment.
Tomfoolery x PETA: Put to the Test
Long ago, in a time oh so troubled,
was a world we would rather forget.
But it must be known, so it’s never repeated,
of when animals were put to the test.
It began with a thirst for new knowledge,
as so many of these things often do.
Though we didn’t expect, as curiosity progressed,
calls to test these discoveries would, too.
How could we know what would be safe for consumption?
If the compounds would sting in our eyes?
If our children could safely consume them?
And dark plans we began to devise.
We couldn’t know if the results would be accurate,
as the experimenters conjured up plans.
Without a thought for consent or consideration,
they gathered up creatures from all over the land.
These were guinea pigs, fish, mice, and rabbits.
They were rats, cats, and hamsters and hogs,
any being that was there, from the birds of the air,
all the way to the monkeys and dogs.
And these servants were locked in their servitude,
forced to exist without respite or rest,
living in such a fear, every week, month, and year,
as they faced unimaginable tests.
They were bound in metallic contraptions,
where their captors observed them with charts
under halogen lights for their unending nights,
with their faces pressed up to the glass.
And we shaved them and doused them in chemicals
and ignored all their cries out in pain.
They were bred for disease and destruction,
all for industry profit and gain.
We believed we had dominion over animals.
We rationalised it as our divine right.
But for many, the harrowing horror
was only possible when far from our sight.
And we saw a rise to an age of commodities,
of detergents to clean up the house,
so countless furry friends met their nightmarish end,
though results don’t translate between human and mouse.
There were some who were outraged and angry
and they took their chance to protest and to shout.
They’d expose this demonstrable cruelty
and, occasionally, the footage leaked out.
And when we saw the great price of our products,
we were compelled by compassion and love.
So we lobbied to persuade politicians,
and mammoth movements began to rise up.
But still so many chose to languish in ignorance,
unconvinced that beings should be protected,
even when studies undermined the whole enterprise
and proved most of the results ineffective.
But public opinion is a force to be reckoned with,
and despite all who had covered their eyes,
soon the activists started working with artists
and together began turning the tide.
They found words to describe the unspeakable.
They found pictures to illustrate the unseen.
And as more woke up to this torment,
they called for an end to the great misery.
For the sake of a tablet or deodorant,
for the sake of lipstick or shampoo,
all the suffering was now in the open,
and we determined this could not continue.
Until the day animal testing was defeated
and the very last facility closed
and the creatures were returned to their freedom
and the inflictors left to answer their souls.
Now it remains as a stain on our memory,
in old stories that we wish to forget,
though we don’t, so it’s never repeated.
It’s the tale we call, “Put to the Test”.
Living in Such a Fear, Every Week, Month, and Year
While the future in Tom’s poem is free from cruel tests on animals, right now, millions of mice, rats, fish, rabbits, guinea pigs, cats, dogs, and other animals are living in such a fear in laboratories around the world.
Animals used in experiments may legally be poisoned, subjected to psychological distress, deliberately infected with diseases, subjected to brain damage, paralysed, exposed to skin or eye irritants, burned, gassed, force-fed, electrocuted, and deprived of food, water, or sleep – then killed.
Millions more are bred to suffer from debilitating genetic modifications, are used as breeding machines in the cruel supply chain, or languish in cages without being used for experiments until they die.
Call For an End to the Great Misery
Join Tom in helping to create a more compassionate future by shopping cruelty-free. By buying only cruelty-free products, you can spare sensitive rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, rats, and other animals suffering in excruciating tests. Need help finding out which products are cruelty-free? We’ve got you covered:
Help make the future truly free from these agonising experiments. Take action today to prevent animals from being poisoned and killed in cruel tests for cosmetics in the EU:
