Stockholders to Be Presented With Effective, Humane Alternatives

For Immediate Release:
April 25, 2005

Contact:
Sadhana Dhruvakumar 757-622-7382

North Branch, N.J. — Ten Merck stockholders have introduced a resolution, on behalf of PETA, to be voted on at the company’s annual meeting in North Branch on Tuesday. The resolution calls on the company to replace five painful animal tests with effective, state-of-the-art, non-animal test methods that are currently available and in use in the European Union, Canada, and other countries:

Date: Tuesday, April 26
Time: 10:30 a.m.
Place: Edward Nash Theatre, Raritan Valley Community College, Route 28 and Lamington Road

The resolution is part of PETA’s "Give the Animals 5" Campaign, which seeks to end the use of rabbits and other animals in painful tests that involve injecting animals with drugs or applying chemicals to their shaved skin. More effective non-animal test methods using human cells and human blood are available.

Working with a number of its members, PETA has filed similar resolutions with 16 of the largest chemical and pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. Five companies filed appeals with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), arguing that the resolutions should be declared ineligible for consideration by their stockholders. The SEC rejected the companies’ arguments, ruling that General Electric, Dow Chemical, 3M, Johnson & Johnson, and Schering-Plough must include these PETA-sponsored animal-testing resolutions in their proxy materials. The filings have also led to productive discussions between PETA’s science advisors and several of the companies. PETA agreed to withdraw its resolutions from Johnson & Johnson, ExxonMobil, Schering-Plough, and Dow following negotiations.

"Shareholders have a right to vote on an issue that affects their investment," says PETA Science Policy Advisor Troy Seidle. "With caring consumers now boycotting companies that conduct animal tests, making the switch to progressive, humane alternatives can have a significant impact on a company’s bottom line."

A copy of the resolution is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA’s Web site StopAnimalTests.com.