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Edmund O'meara
Physiologist Edmund O'Meara says, "the miserable torture of vivisection places the body in an unnatural state." He objects to vivisection--dissection--because the pain the subject endures would interfere with the accuracy of the results. -
Jeremy Bentham
Philosopher Jeremy Bentham starts the moral debate on animal cruelty by asking: "...the question is not, can they reason, nor can they talk, but can they suffer?" in An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. -
Martin's Act
Great Britain passes the Martin's Act, the first law against cruelty to farm animals. -
Prevention Of Cruelty to Animals
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is founded in Great Britain. The name is later changed to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals after it is patronized by Princess Victoria. -
John C. Dalton
John C. Dalton, Jr. becomes the first neurophysiologist in the United States to experiment on live animals as a part of classroom instruction. -
American Society
Henry Bergh founds the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. -
Cruelty to Animals Act
The British Parliament passes the Cruelty to Animals Act. Experimenters must apply for licenses every year, and any painful experiments need special permission. -
Vaccines
Louis Pasteur invents vaccines for cholera and rabies while using animals to study infectious diseases. -
American Anti-Vivisection Society
American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS) is formed. -
Ivan Pavlov
Ivan Pavlov uses salivating dogs to describe classical conditioning. -
Animal Humane Association
American Humane Association calls for laws prohibiting the repetition of painful experiments for use in teaching or demonstrating well-known or accepted facts. -
Ronald Ross
Sir Ronald Ross uses pigeons to show how malaria is transmitted. He wins the Nobel Prize for his work. -
Start of the Draize Eye Test
J.H. Draize develops the Draize Test in which rabbits have test substances dripped into one eye. -
The Three R's
W.M.S. Russell and R.L. Burch publish The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique, which introduces the principle of Refinement, one of the Three Rs. Reduction--use fewer animals in experiments. Replacement--the use of non-animal alternatives over animals whenever possible. Refinement--use techniques to alleviate or minimize the invasive procedures that could potentially cause pain, suffering or distress, and to the enhancement animal welfare for the animals still used. -
American Association for Acceditation of Laboratory Animals
The American Association for Accreditation of Laboratory Animals is founded by veterinary and scientific groups to promote uniform animal-care standards. Today, this organization is known as the American Association for Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC). -
Animal Welfare Act
U.S. Congress passes the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) which affects the commercial sale, research, transportation or zoological exhibition of animals. Inspection duties fall to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The act includes warm-blooded animals with the exception of mice, rats, birds and farm animals. -
AWA
The AWA is amended to include the same animals alive or dead, plus any category of warm-blooded animal (excluding farm animals) that the secretary of agriculture determines are being used in research. -
USDA
The USDA excludes mice, rats, and birds from coverage under AWA. -
Henry Spira's Research
Animal rights activist Henry Spira leads a campaign against NIH-funded experiments on cats at AmericanMuseum of Natural History in New York City. -
Henry's Research is Stopped
Henry Spira's research is stopped after 18 months of picketing. -
Modernization Act
Research Modernization Act is introduced by United Action for Animals (UAA) stating that 30-50% of animal research funding be used for finding alternative testing.National Association for Biomedical Research is founded to defend animal use in research. -
Draize Campaign
Henry Spira launches the Draize Campaign (USA) against rabbit eye irritancy testing and places a full-page advertisement in the New York Times with the header "How many rabbits does Revlon blind for beauty's sake?" -
Health Research Extension Act
• Health Research Extension Act, Public Law 99-158 "Animals in Research", is passed in the United States to provide a legislative basis for guidelines for the care and treatment of research animals.
• Congress amends AWA, mandating that experimental procedures minimize animal pain and distress with appropriate anesthesia, analgesics, and euthanasia. These revisions also impose exercise requirements for dogs and guidelines to promote the psychological well-being of non-human primates. -
Draize and LD50
• Cambridge, Massachusetts, passes the first municipal restrictions on animal testing. The Cambridge City Council bans two animal research procedures: the Draize and LD50 tests.
• California high school student Jennifer Graham refuses to dissect a frog. The incident makes national headlines. -
Cover Girl
Noxell, maker of Cover Girl cosmetics and Noxzema skin creams, becomes the first major U.S.cosmetics corporation to announce that it would stop using the Draize Test. Avon and Revlon shortly follow. -
Animal Legal Defense Fund and Humane Society Sue
The USDA denies a petition by animal welfare groups to include mice, rats and birds in its AWA coverage. The Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Humane Society of the United States sue the USDA. AWA coverage is extended to horses and other farm animals used in research. The USDA issues regulations under the 1985 AWA amendments covering care of cats, dogs, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, marine mammals, and a general category of "other warm-blooded animals." -
LD50 Dropped
Representatives of regulatory agencies in Japan, Europe, and the United States agree to drop the classic LD50 as a required measure of acute toxicity. -
NIH Revitalization Act
• The NIH Revitalization Act requires the NIH to prepare a Plan for "Use of Animals in Research" in which the NIH is charged with establishing criteria and research methods of alternative testing.
• General Motors stops using live animals in crash tests. -
Burlington Coat Factory
An investigation by the Humane Society finds that retailer Burlington Coat Factory is selling products made from dog and cat fur. -
Consumer Product Safety Commission
The Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Food and Drug Administration change their animal testing procedures to use results from an alternate test using mice--and fewer of them than the traditional guinea pig test. The alternate test, like the traditional one, is needed to determine if a new chemical is likely to cause allergic contact dermatitis in workers and consumers. -
ICCVAM
Interagency Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) Authorization Act of 2000 established the ICCVAM as a permanent interagency committee and empowered it to review federal and federally-funded toxicological tests for possible reduction of animal use. -
Ban on Cosmetics Industry
January: The EU approves a ban on animal testing in the cosmetics industry. The ban takes effect in 2009. -
Humane Society Goes Public
Clothing chain Forever 21 promises to stop selling fur.
October: The Humane Society goes public with its campaign challenging Allergan, Inc. regarding the use of painful, deadly animal testing of Botox. -
Faux
• President George W. Bush signs the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) into law, targeting animal rights activists who commit animal enterprise terror.
• A Humane Society investigation finds that items labeled as "faux" fur at Burlington Coat Factory are made of real fur. -
Alternatives
February 14: A coalition of government agencies, including the EPA and the National Institutes of Health, announce an agreement on testing methods that could lead to the end of animal testing. -
Illegal to Kill Apes
June 25: Spain becomes the first nation to extend rights to apes. The law makes it illegal to kill apes, except in self-defense. It also outlaws the use of apes in medical experiments or entertainment venues such as circuses.
