For FDA’s Andy, The Dog Days Of Summer
4 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // July 22nd, 2008 // 11:21 am
The FDA commish is being berated this week in full-page ads in The Washington Post by animal activists, who are frustrated and impatient that the agency has failed to respond to their entreaties to eliminate animal testing used to determine toxicity in drugs.
And so PETA, the People for the Ethical Treament of Animals, have placed a cute little beagle alongside von Eschenbach’s hound dog mug in hopes of stirring widespread passion among the public. The ad reads: “Because the FDA guidelines are antiquated, dogs are still forced to ingest, inhale, or be injected with drugs. Those who don’t die outright can suffer for months or even years while their organs fail and they become riddled with cancer and other diseases. Thanks to the FDA, dogs are also purposely infected with diseases but not provided with medicine or pain relief.”
UPDATE: An FDA spokeswoman sends us this statement: “FDA supports efforts to reduce the number of animals used in product safety testing, and replacement with laboratory tests where possible. We also require companies to meet Good Laboratory Practices so that animals used in product testing are treated in a humane and compassionate manner.
“At the present time, there are some necessary animal-based tests for which a suitable laboratory test has not yet been developed. However, FDA, the industry, and scientific organizations continue to seek replacement test methods and we are optimistic that as science continues to advance, we can make further progress in this area.”
Nathan
Wow — normally in political circles a figure head affiliated with one side or the other. This poor man is hated by consumers, by congress, by pharma, and now by PETA. Normally you please one of your bosses at the expense of the others. This guy can’t seem to please ANY of his bosses. I don’t envy him.
It’s kindof similar to being the commander of US forces in Iraq. It’s just a no-win job. Turn it down if the position is ever offered to you!
Matthew Arnold
It must be said, this is about the weakest effort I’ve ever seen from PETA, which has long enjoyed a reputation as the P&G of advocacy groups. They should’ve gone with a headline like: “Abu Ghraib. Blackwater. Whatever. This man tortures cute little puppies.”
Deborah
Why doesn’t PETA take some of the huge amount of money they waste on ads, on killing puppies they steal from humane societies, on attacking legitimate purebreed dog breeders, and use this huge amount of money to come up with better testing methods? It’s easy to take out ads and throw stones or spray paint people’s clothing or kill puppies that they say they are “saving.” It’d be a lot more constructive if they actually used these funds to help humanity.
Katherine
Hey Deborah,
I take it PETA’s donation of $760,000 in recent years to the development and implementation of non-animal test methods isn’t enough for you? Why don’t YOU learn more before YOU throw stones. Something makes me think you’d never like anything PETA does..