"Hands-On Pig Lab" Cancelled! Yay!

From the Farm Sanctuary:

Action Alerts & Updates

Cruel Pig Lab Canceled – for now
August 5, 2008

Victory! The Society of Gynecological Oncologists informed Farm Sanctuary today that they have canceled the "Hands-On Pig Lab" that was to take place on August 7 in conjunction with a surgical meeting.

Covidien Electrosurgery, who devised the "Pig Lab", is a company that performs laboratory tests on animals in order to market its surgical tools. Formerly known as ValleyLab, Covidien has a history of controversy, including an incident that prompted the University of Colorado at Denver to ban all non-research vivisection in 2007.

While the Society of Gynecological Oncologists has canceled the upcoming workshop, Covidien has not expressed any intention of ending the practice of mutilating and killing pigs in order to hawk its wares to prospective buyers.

Therefore, we must now take our efforts to the next level and ensure these types of cruel marketing schemes are ended for good. The public does not tolerate such treatment of animals and our public policy should reflect that.

You Can Help

1. Please call your federal representative and urge him or her to co-sponsor H.R. 2193– legislation that will amend the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit the use of animals for marketing medical devices. You can find out who represents you by going to http://action.farmsanctuary.org/legislatorlookup. The sponsors of this bill are Reps. Steve Israel (D-NY) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) and if your member of Congress has already become a cosponsor, please thank them!

2. Please take a moment to send an email as well! The most effective emails are personalized, so please edit the text below, and be sure to include your name and full address.

   Subject: Please cosponsor HR 2193 (NOT EDITABLE)

   Suggested text: (editable)

   Dear Representative,

   I am writing to urge you to cosponsor HR 2193 sponsored by Reps. Steve Israel and Mark Kirk. This legislation will ban the shameless use of animals to market medical devices. There is no excuse for using live animals to garner profit through mutilation and experimental surgeries.

   Thank you for your time and assistance.