Maryland residents, please contact your Senators today and tell them you strongly support Senate Bill 495 – Research Facilities and Testing Facilities That Use Animals.

This bill would:

• Help reduce the number of nonhumans used for product safety testing by requiring that equivalent or superior non-animal methods be used when available and that research facilities justify and report animal use to the State Inspector;
• Provide additional protections for dogs and cats used in research by prohibiting their use in non-federally-mandated product safety tests, prohibiting research facilities from acquiring them from animal shelters, prohibiting research facilities from devocalizing them, and requiring that research facilities consider adopting them out once retired from research; and
• Increase research facility oversight by creating a state inspection policy.

Please contact your Senators today and tell them you strongly support this bill in the interests of both humans and nonhumans, and, then, help spread the word!