Giant PETA ‘Mouse’ Will Appear at Obama Rally to Call Out Wasteful Animal Tests

For Immediate Release:
October 21, 2024

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

A giant PETA “mouse” will share the message “Save Me and $22 Billion: End Animal Experiments!” outside former President Barack Obama’s campaign speech for Vice President Kamala Harris  in Detroit, MI on Tuesday urging officials to end the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) annual waste of billions of tax dollars on cruel and archaic experiments on animals.

PETA’s battleground state blitz will also include stops at early voting locations throughout Detroit and Hamtramck, where a mouse mascot will inform passersby that NIH squanders nearly half its annual budget on experiments on animals—although 90% of basic research, most of which involves animals, fails to lead to effective treatments for humans. In addition, 95% of new drugs that test safe and effective in animals later fail in humans—sometimes causing severe side effects such as anaphylaxis or even death.

“NIH kills animals and throws billions down the drain every year on painful and pointless experiments that benefit no one,” says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. “PETA urges government officials to end this funding fiasco and encourages taxpayers to demand that their money go to modern, human-relevant research that leaves animals in peace.”

Where:           Starting at Hamtramck City Hall, 3401 Evaline St, Hamtramck, MI 48212

                        Moving to the Campaign Rally, Huntington Place – 1 Washington Blvd, Detroit, MI 48226      

When:             Tuesday, October 22

                        Hamtramck City Hall at 8 a.m. EST

                        Outside of the Campaign Rally at 2:30 p.m. EST

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness.

For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

Note: PETA supports animal rights, opposes all forms of animal exploitation, and educates the public on those issues. PETA does not directly or indirectly participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office or any political party.