Deep Roots: Animal Rights Blog

April 17-24 is World Week for Animals in Laboratories. For now, I won’t go into all the arguments against animal testing. This post is for those that already agree that it is ethically irresponsible. This post is for those that want to know what to do to help lab animals.

Truth be told, there are a lot of things that you can do. Some more legal than others (but in the age of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, it seems harder to know the difference at times). I don’t want to tell you how you can be most productive in your activism. I just want to provide five easy things that anyone can do during “WAIL Week.” If you have more ideas, feel free to share them in the comments section.

1.) Support the Great Ape Protection Act (HR 1326)

It is true that this bill won’t protect all lab animals, but it will save thousands of chimpanzees from research that could potentially cause death, physical harm, or psychological distress. It will also allow about 600 chimps currently housed in U.S. laboratories to live out the rest of their lives in sanctuaries. Ending this type of experimentation and saving thousands of lives in the process is something that we should all be able to get behind. Since the U.S. is the last known country to conduct invasive experimentation on chimpanzees, this bill would effectively end all known chimpanzee experimentation throughout the world. The bill has 142 co-sponsors. Make sure that your representatives are on the list.

You can easily send an email to your representatives.

2.) Organize a demonstration

First, check to see if there is already an event being organized in your town. If not, grab some friends and put something together. The WWAIL website has a great demonstration checklist if you are new to organizing such things. While having a lot of people turn out for your demonstration can look good, you don’t need a ton of people to be effective. Be creative and have fun!

3.) Set up an educational event

You can educate people with a demonstration, but very few people are going to come up and ask questions of someone participating (unless they are epithetical questions). By passing out informative pamphlets, setting up a table, and/or setting up a presentation, you can help spread the world about the questionable ethics of animal testing to more people. You can find some free downloadable resources on the WWAIL website.

4.) Write a letter to the editor

These days, a “letter to the editor” means more than just your local newspaper to me. Sure, you should do that, too. (Why not? It is so easy.) But you can also “write a letter to the editor” in the form of a blog post, tweet, facebook status update, zine, and other form of be-the-media. Don’t let corporate news outlets control what the public does and doesn’t talk about. Help create a local, national, and international discussion on animal testing.

5.) Disobey

Nonviolent civil disobedience can be a great tool for several reasons: brings public attention to the issue, shows that we aren’t going to be satisfied with writing letters to no avail, and can sometimes shut down operations for periods of time. Civil disobedience in its very nature does probably mean you are breaking the law to some degree (hence, disobedience). I can’t be responsible for what actions you take, but be forewarned that you may get arrested depending on what you choose to do. But like those who fought for civil rights or the abolitionists that fought to end slavery or the suffragettes that fought for a woman’s right to vote, I don’t think you should let the law stand in the way of doing what is right. Especially when you are practicing nonviolence.