Media Room

A large number of laws and regulations have been enacted worldwide to control the marketing of drugs, vaccines, food additives, pesticides, industrial chemicals, and other substances of potential toxicological concern. Such regulations often prescribe a specific regime of toxicity testing to generate

In the time since the most commonly used toxicity tests were conceived, there has been a revolution in biology and biotechnology. Advances in tissue engineering and robotics have given birth to rapid “high throughput” in vitro (cell culture) systems, while emerging technologies

As public opposition towards animal testing has grown, animal use has been broadly prohibited where alternative methods are “reasonably and practicably available” (e.g., EU Directive 86/609 and legislation in the U.S. states of California [PDF], New Jersey [PDF] and New York [PDF])

Some toxicity tests consume hundreds or thousands of animals per substance examined (e.g., lifetime cancer studies consume approximately 400 rats and 400 mice; a study of birth defects and developmental toxicity consumes 1,300 rats and/or 900 rabbits; and a study of sexual

When it comes to human exploitation of primates, the animals are often just as valuable dead as they are alive. Their parts may be used in traditional medicine by people in some cultures and their bodies stuffed as hunting trophies by others

Living primates, whether captive-bred or wild-caught, have been exploited by humans for exotic pet trade, for our entertainment and in biomedical research. In each case, people have put their own needs and desires first, without enough thought for what is best for

Smoking bushmeat. Heather E. Eves A woman shops for bushmeat at a local market. Richard G. Ruggiero In many parts of the world, apes and monkeys are killed for consumption by humans. Bushmeat is classified as meat from a wild animal, and

There are 6 billion humans on the planet today, and with that number come all of the demands of supporting life. People need land to live on and to harvest food from. There are minimal limitations on how much land each person

When sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices are implemented, both wildlife and farmers can benefit. HSI’s habitat protection and cacao program serves to educate and empower local cacao producers in Costa Rica, Guatemala and Nicaragua to improve their production techniques to ensure