Seth Victor
Taking further steps in the right direction, Merck, one of the largest drug producers in the world, announced last month that it is ending research on chimpanzees. Kathleen Conlee, vice president of animal research issues for The HSUS said: “Merck’s new biomedical research policy will save chimpanzees from unnecessary and painful experiments. Merck’s decision, and that of several other pharmaceutical companies, sends a strong message that private industry is moving away from chimpanzee research as the government has.”
Merck has made this commitment while simultaneously stating, “The company’s mission is to discover, develop, manufacture and market innovative medicines and vaccines that treat and prevent illness. Animal research is indispensable to this mission.” While that quotation ominously suggests that other animals will continue to be a part of the company’s research, the more hopeful interpretation is that while Merck relies on animal testing under FDA regulations for its drugs and other products, it joins other pharmaceutical companies recognizing that even though chimps might be valuable to this research, their welfare is more important, and other ways to test the products should be utilized.
Filed under: animal cruelty, animal ethics, animal experimentation, animal welfare, endangered species, exotic animals | Tagged: animal advocacy, animal cruelty, animal ethics, animal experimentation, animal rights, animal suffering, animal testing, animal welfare, animals, chimpanzees, endangered species, Endangered Species Act, exotic animals, HSUS, Merck, pharmaceuticals | 1 Comment »
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