Dogs and other animals are bred to be used in laboratory experiments, and some of that research is paid for with federal tax dollars. Congress has the power to stop funding these experiments and move that money into modern research methods that study human biology directly, without harming animals.

On September 26, a 14-day march covering 207 miles across New York State ended at the gates of Marshall BioResources, one of the biggest suppliers of research animals in the world. The March to Abolish Animal Testing set out from Albany on September 12, and more than 1,100 people signed up to take part, according to organizers. That same day, advocates in the United Kingdom walked to MBR Acres, a Cambridgeshire site owned by the same company.

The march followed the rescue of more than 2,000 beagles from Ridglan Farms in Wisconsin, where the dogs had been bred for lab use.

Scientists now have tools like lab-grown human cells and tissue models that can answer questions animals cannot. "We have superior, non-animal methods at our fingertips," said march co-director Gretchen Primack, according to WAN. Congress already moved in this direction in 2022 by passing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Modernization Act 2.0, which ended a federal rule requiring new drugs to be tested on animals before human trials.

Taxpayers should not have to pay for outdated experiments when better options exist. Congress and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) should phase out federal funding for animal testing and invest in humane, human-relevant research instead.

Sign the petition to tell Congress to end taxpayer-funded animal testing now, while momentum for better science is growing.