Who was E6993? May 6, 2009

Posted by Rachel-O at May 6, 2009 4:42 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 13 ) | TrackBack

christina maki / CC

How many of you have heard the words "But it's already dead" when bringing up your objection to dissecting an animal in class? Well, that "it" was once a living animal, and if he or she was a dog or cat, there's a pretty good chance they were someone's companion.

The animal testing and dissection industries are heartless—masked by genius marketing schemes designed to trick compassionate people into paying for cruelty to animals in the name of saving human lives or teaching kids valuable lessons. Vivisectors, scientists and researchers want nothing more than for you to be quiet, listen, and not question the outdated, cruel and inhumane methods in which they blindly believe—and profit from.

So where do those animals come from? Well, frogs, rabbits and sometimes cats can come from breeding supply firms like the one in our undercover investigation (where you can see cats being pumped with formaldehyde while they're still alive) or can be trapped in the wild. If you're dissecting a dog or a cat in your high school or college though, they might've come straight from your local shelter thanks to pound seizure.

What is pound seizure? It's one of the most disgusting acts (and that's a feat) in any animal exploitation business—where dealers can purchase live animals from shelters in many states, and sell them off to schools, or laboratories for dissection and testing. These future test subjects were once someone's companion—unwanted, abandoned, or just plain missing and waiting to go home.

E6993 was a stray with her purple collar still on, who was found by animal control in a rural Michigan town. She was brought to a local shelter there, and then purchased by a research company. After spending six months there, likely spending most of her time alone, confined in a cage, E6993 was sold to the University of Florida, where vet students performed abdominal surgeries, ultrasounds and other procedures on her. E6993 would never find her way home. After 7 months of being tested on, E6993 was killed.

Help stop all animals from being brought into labs and classrooms—dead or alive. Demand alternatives for dissection—we can help. Animals who are lost, trapped or bred only to be killed in your class or others have no voice—they need yours. Speak up for animals like E6993 in the best place you can—your own school.