PETA is urging the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to stop bankrolling the worst of the worst experiments on animals—known as “Column E” tests—which cause ongoing pain without any relief and that include experiments conducted at the University of Utah.

In a letter sent today, PETA points to a Column E test at the University of Utah in which experimenters cut out thick sections of pigs’ skin to create open wounds and intentionally left them to suffer without pain relief for weeks.

A pig used in a wound experiment. For illustrative purposes only. Credit: PETA

“All experiments on animals are cruel and unethical, but experiments that cause prolonged agony without pain relief must end immediately,” says PETA Vice President Dr. Alka Chandna. “PETA is calling on NIH to stop funding torture and switch to modern, human-relevant research methods.”

Experimenters have cited “expediency” and “cost reduction” as reasons to withhold pain relief from animals. Other experimenters operate under the misguided belief that providing pain relief would somehow interfere with the tests, despite the well-documented fact that pain and distress compromise results. In 2022 alone, more than 90,000 animals in the U.S.—including monkeys, cats, and rabbits—were subjected to Column E experiments.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

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