The neglect, suffering, deception, and cruelty uncovered at UNC are directly supported with your tax dollars, courtesy of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Please, immediately contact NIH and demand that it stop funding animal research at UNC. Also, ask that it conduct a thorough and unbiased investigation into UNC’s animal care and use program. Write and call:

Axel V. Wolff, D.V.M., Director
Division of Compliance Oversight
Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare
National Institutes of Health
RKL1, Ste. 360, MSC 7982
6705 Rockledge Dr.
Bethesda, MD 20892-7982
301-594-2061
301-402-2803 (fax)
wolffa@od.nih.gov

The Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) “evaluates organizations that use animals in research, teaching, or testing … those that exhibit excellence in animal care and use are awarded accreditation.” According to AAALAC, accreditation “represents quality,” “promotes scientific validity,” “demonstrates accountability,” and “shows a real commitment to humane animal care.”

In the case of UNC, nothing could be farther from the truth. While UNC is accredited by AAALAC, the university has exhibited disdain for the values that accreditation supposedly embodies. Please contact AAALAC and demand that it strip UNC of its accreditation. Write to:

Dr. John G. Miller, Executive Director
AAALAC
11300 Rockville Pike, #1211
Rockville, MD 20852-3035
E-Mail: jmiller@aaalac.org
Fax: 301-231-8282

On May 8, 2002, Congress passed the Farm Bill (H.R. 2646). Although the bill mainly had to do with farm subsidies, it included Sen. Jesse Helms' amendment, which requires that rats, mice, and birds be excluded from any protection under the Animal Welfare Act. With the passage of the bill, the research industry has free rein to subject these animals to appalling procedures and conditions that would be illegal for any other warm-blooded animals.

Every day, mice and rats die in our nation's laboratories—without even the most basic, rudimentary protections of federal law.

Please write to your members of Congress to ask them to amend the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) to include rats and mice. These rodents are intelligent, social beings who deserve protection just as much as the dogs, rabbits, and hamsters currently included in the AWA do. Click here to find contact information for your representative and senators.

Please also consider making a donation to support PETA's vital work to stop this cruelty.