Hawking's Alien Warning Prompts PETA to Place Satirical Anti-Vivisection Ad

Comment by Stephen Hawking About Extraterrestrials' Potential Designs on Humans Not Such an Alien Concept, Says PETA

For Immediate Release:
April 28, 2010

Contact:
Amanda Fortino 757-622-7382 

Roswell, N.M. -- Inspired by Stephen Hawking's recent warning that extraterrestrials might be a bit too much like humans (i.e., hostile) for Earthlings' comfort, PETA is planning to erect a billboard in Roswell to serve as a reminder that being abducted by "superior beings" for experiments is more than a conspiracy theory for the more than 100 million animals in U.S. laboratories.

"Being abducted by aliens for experiments may be the stuff of sci-fi horror flicks and our worst nightmares, but it is all too real for millions of animals in laboratories," says PETA's Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "We hope that our ad will make people stop and think about how terrifying it must be to have your body left to science--while you're still in it."

Animals used in experiments--from mice to dogs to monkeys--are confined to barren cages and denied everything that is natural and important to them. Experimenters conduct repeated surgeries on animals, force them to eat chemicals, implant wires in their brains, crush their spines, and blind them, among other abuses. These cruel experiments persist despite our rich knowledge about animals' lives and their ability to feel pain and suffer, despite the existence of modern non-animal research methods, and despite the ever-growing recognition that results obtained from animal tests cannot be reliably applied to humans.

For more information about animal experimentation, please click here.