For immediate release:
June 25, 2021
Contact:
Amanda Hayes 202-483-7382
Bedford, Massachusetts. – Statement by PETA Vice President Dr. Alka Chandna regarding a newly received federal document indicating a serious breach of animal welfare at Toxikon Corporation in Bedford, Massachusetts:
Force-feeding vulnerable dogs, monkeys, rabbits, and other animals in painful and deadly trials with potentially toxic chemicals is commonplace for contract killers from the Bedford Toxikon Corporation, but incompetence and a culture of neglect add to animal suffering. … According to a just published federal inspection report obtained by PETA, the experimenters failed to notify veterinarians that the rabbit had seriously deteriorated and lost 27% of its body weight. The animal was found stuck in an electronic collar, resulting in “the muzzle tearing and swelling … leading to a narrowing of the animal’s airways, leading to respiratory failure.”
Toxicon has a history of serious animal welfare violations, with at least 10 violations in federal reports since 2017. The rabbit suffered a spinal fracture due to improper handling and had to be killed, the animal died during anesthesia due to the experimenter being unable to open the valve, and the dog died unattended on the surgical table when the experimenters were unable to notify the veterinarians of its increased breathing rate. The tens of thousands of animals that are experimented on and killed every year in Toxikon laboratories feel pain and value their lives as much as any of the company’s executives, so Toxikon will do the right thing if it modernizes its testing program, leaving behind archaic and brutal animal testing. and using only complex, human-relevant testing methods.