The University of Washington is proposing to construct a new “state of the art” two-story below-grade animal research facility of approximately 96,000 square feet.  This building is intended to hold innocent animals captive for purposes of experimentation by the  Department of Comparative Medicine (DCM) and the Washington National Primate Research Center (WaNPRC).  

Testing on primates and other animals is not only morally repugnant, but has also been widely demonstrated to be a poor predictor of the human reactions it is supposedly intended to simulate.  An article published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine concluded that most animal experiments are irrelevant to human health and do not contribute meaningfully to medical advancement.  Moreover, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) noted that 92% of drugs that were demonstrated as "successful" in animal tests eventually failed in human trials.  Of the 8% that were approved for human use, 50% were relabeled for side effects that were not found in animal trials.

Simply put, animal testing is bad science.  Therefore it is neither our right nor our obligation to hold innocent animals captive to perform cruel and unnecessary tests on them.  

The fact that the University of Washington intends to build this facility underground is hugely telling of the immorality of such a structure.  Please sign the petition and send a message to the University of Washington that you do not condone constructing a hidden facility to conduct cruel and unnecessary tests on animal captives.