News for Florida animal advocates

Earlier this week, an ARFF representative spoke before the Port St. Lucie City Council and expressed concerns about the use of animals by the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies (click here to read a report in the Port St. Lucie News). Torrey Pines recently announced that it will be moving its headquarters to Port St. Lucie (construction will begin in 2007). Torrey Pines also announced that its research in Florida will include the use of rats, mice and rabbits.

Mice and rats are specifically excluded from protection under the federal Animal Welfare Act, despite the fact that they make up approximately 95% of all laboratory animals. Research organizations are not required to report the number of rats and mice they use each year, or whether the experiments involved pain or distress.

Please write to Torrey Pines and ask that they voluntarily report the number and species of ALL animals used in Florida. For the thousands of rats and mice Torrey Pines will use in experiments each year, reporting is a necessary step in ensuring their humane treatment.

Write to:
Richard Houghten, President
Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies
3550 General Atomics Court, 2-129
San Diego, CA 92121-1122
E-mail: rhoughten@tpims.org

Comments RSS