1. United States
2. Ga.
3. Letter

I am reaching out to you today in opposition to the Safeguard Pets, Animals, and Research Ethics (SPARE) Act. This bill aims to end federally funded life-saving animal research in the United States. Not only is this legislation anti-science, but it would also decimate the U.S. biomedical research enterprise. If basic research cannot be done in the US, the work would simply shift to countries like China. Animal research remains vital to our mission to understand diseases, discover targeted therapies, alleviate suffering, and improve our quality of life. Unfortunately, many animal rights groups have engaged in campaigns of fear, threats, and disinformation with the single-minded goal of ending access to animals used in life-saving research. If these groups succeed in persuading the federal government to end access to animal models, we may see a reduction in treatments for diseases and a myriad of other breakthroughs, as animal models play a major role in advancing biomedical research. Biomedical research projects involving animals are governed by a strict structure of laws, regulations, and guidelines and continue to yield invaluable data in the process of discovering new therapies to treat, cure, and prevent disease. These studies involving animals are done only when necessary and provide the safety and efficacy measures required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before medications and treatments can proceed to human clinical trials. Registered institutions that conduct animal research in the U.S. have a committee required by the federal Animal Welfare Act, which reviews proposed research studies involving animals to ensure that alternatives are not available, confirm they have not previously conducted the research, and the use of animals is kept to the approximate number required for relevant research results. These institutions are subject to annual unannounced USDA inspections. Studies funded by the NIH also report to the NIH’s Office of Laboratory Welfare (OLAW). The biomedical research community strongly supports robust oversight of animal research, including the laws, regulations, and institutional policies that ensure the humane treatment, welfare, and safety of animals utilized in scientific research. I encourage you to work with the scientific community to promote future advancements in research that enhance rather than undermine scientific innovation and urge you to oppose the Safeguard Pets, Animals, and Research Ethics (SPARE) Act. Thank you for your consideration in supporting and advancing the United States global leadership in biomedical research.