SUPPORT: Animal Testing and Research – Human-Relevant Research Funding and Animal Testing and Research Licensure – SB 560/HB 626.
This bill would establish the Human–Relevant Research Fund. The purpose of the fund is to promote state-funded research through grants and loans to public and private entities in Maryland to develop human-relevant alternatives to using animals in medical and product testing and research.
Laboratory testing on animals is often painful, debilitating, and cruel. A Pew Research Center poll found that 52% of U.S. adults oppose the use of animals in scientific research. The smaller percentage of the population that still accepts animal experimentation often does so only because it believes it to be necessary for medical progress. In an article published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, however, researchers found that medical treatments developed on animals often do not translate to humans. The study also warned patients and physicians to be cautious about extrapolating the findings of prominent animal research to the care of human disease. What we now know is that there are many alternatives to using animals in research.
This is an opportunity for Maryland to invest in an emerging scientific area that will continue to grow. Maryland already has a niche in the biomedical and biotech industries with numerous famous hospitals and universities. This Fund would not only provide jobs for Marylanders utilizing the most advanced scientific models for research, but also it would save animals from unnecessary suffering in tests that have been deemed less reliable than computer simulations and synthetic materials testing.
Passing this bill is a win-win-win. It is a win for animals, a win for medical research, and a win for Maryland’s economy.
Please contact your legislators and tell them that you SUPPORT SB 560/HB 626! It takes just a few seconds to fill out the form below and send your letters of support to your representatives in Annapolis!
Thank you again for being an advocate for Maryland’s animals. Remember, Maryland Votes for Animals, Inc. can only succeed with the help of animal advocates like you. Please consider making a donation to Maryland Votes for Animals at voteanimals.org/donate now, so we can continue fighting for Maryland animals.
With compassion,
Maryland Votes for Animals, Inc.