A bipartisan bill has been introduced to try to put retired government laboratory testing animals into forever homes or animal rescues.
The Animal Freedom from Testing, Experimentation, and Research, or "AFTER" Act, was introduced by lawmakers including Sens. Susan Collins and Gary Peters to try and relocate and home these animals to private residences, sanctuaries or animal rescues.
Sen. Peters says the bill would "encourage federal agencies to collaborate with shelters, rescue organizations, and sanctuaries to help provide these animals with safe and caring environments.”
Why we experiment on animals
In the modern era, experiments with animals have been essential to biomedical science.
The bill is meant to direct "federal agencies to facilitate and encourage the retirement of animals to help ensure they are placed in loving homes or sanctuaries,” Sen. Collins said.
Each government agency involved would be able to create its own policies as it tries to retire animals instead of killing them.
Federal agencies would be urged to work with nonprofit organizations to get animals into shelters and other safe places across the country, and not just those closest to the research facility.
