NABR has filed an official complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regarding the refusal of major airlines to carry animals for the purpose of research. Opponents to animal research have now activated their grassroots networks and are flooding the docket with individual comments. Please help us show the DOT how critical this issue is to the future of biomedical research.

The importation of non-human primates (NHPs) for research into the U.S. has become problematic. Further, the transport of several other research species around the world has also become increasingly challenging. As a result, the research community is beginning to see increased costs and uncertainty about the future of research projects. However, without access to the appropriate models for medical research, the public stands to lose the most, as treatments for emerging public health crises may be delayed, discontinued, or moved to other countries. This issue was also featured on September 21 in The Scientist, in that article NABR President Matthew Bailey stated, “Unfortunately, opponents to animal research have engaged in tactics of harassment, protests, and public smear campaigns in an effort to end the transportation of vital research animals involved in health studies worldwide.” The Washington Times has also posted an analysis of the research animal transportation issue: Preventing the transport of research animals.

NABR strongly encourages research institutions to submit letters of support for NABR’s complaint on the DOT docket which argues that airlines’ refusal to ship research animals violates common carrier rules regarding discrimination of cargo. If you have not done so, please submit a letter either as an individual or institution. The docket will close for public comments on December 6. Instructions on how to access the docket can be downloaded here: Instructions for Access DOT Docket . NABR has also made a template letter available for download.

Please take a moment to file a personal comment of support or draft a letter on behalf of your organization.

The following organizations have currently filed comments in support of the complaint:

AAALAC International
AbbVie Inc.
Academy of Laboratory Animal Veterinary Technicians and Nurses
Agenda Resource Management
American Association for Laboratory Animal Science
American Association of Immunologists
American Brain Coalition
American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
American College of Toxicology
American College of Veterinary Pathologists
American Federation of Aviculture, Inc.
American Neurological Association
American Physiological Society
American Psychological Association
Americans for Medical Progress
American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
The American Society of Andrology
American Society of Animal Science
American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology
American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners
American Society of Primatologists
American Veterinary Medical Association
Arizona State University School of Life Sciences
Associated Medical Schools of New York
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of American Universities
Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges
Association of Primate Veterinarians
Association of Public and Land Grant Universities
Animal Health Institute
Axion Research Foundation
Basel Declaration Society
Baylor College of Medicine
BFC Israel
Bioculture (Mauritius) Ltd.
Bridge the Gap
Brown University
California Biomedical Research Association
California Institute for Medical Research
Camarney S.L.U.
Cardiovascular Research Institute-UCSF Zebrafish Shared Facility
Carolina Center for Neurostimulation
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Charles River
Coalition for the Life Sciences
College on Problems of Drug Dependence
Columbia Center for Translational Immunology
Columbia University Institute of Comparative Medicine
Comparative Biosciences, Inc.
Cornell University
Council on Governmental Relations
Drexel University
Duke University Laboratory Animal Resources
Duquesne University
The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University
Ellegaard Gottingen Minipigs
Emory University
Envigo
European Animal Research Association
European College of Laboratory Animal Medicine
European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations
Federation of European Neuroscience Societies
GIRCOR
Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Office of Animal Resources
Helsinki Institute of Life Science
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Janelia Research Campus
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association
Indiana University
Interpharma
Institutional Officials Consortium
International Mammalian Genome Society
International Society for Stem Cell Research
The Jackson Laboratory
JMC Welfare International Ltd.
Johns Hopkins University -signed by Professor and Vice Provost for Research
International Society for Transgenic Technologies
Laboratory Animal Breeders Association of North America, Inc.
Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology
La Jolla Institute for Immunology
Louisiana State University
The Mannheimer Foundation, Inc.
Massachusetts Society for Medical Research
The Max Planck Institute for Neuroscience
McLaughlin Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences
McLean Hospital
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Medical College of Wisconsin
Merck KGaA
The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research
Michigan State University
Musella Foundation
National Animal Interest Alliance
National Association for the Advancement of Animal Science
National Association of Veteran’s Research and Education Foundations
National Primate Research Centers
The Neuropsychopharmacology Translational Research Unit of the Albacete General Hospital (Spain)
New Jersey Association for Biomedical Research
New York University
New York University School of Medicine
Northwest Association for Biomedical Research
Northwestern University
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Noveprim Ltd.
Oregon Health & Science University
Partners Healthcare
Pennsylvania Society for Biomedical Research
The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council
Pfizer Inc.
The Poultry Science Association Inc.
PreLabs, LLC
Research4life
RxGen
Scripps Research
Shriners Hospital for Children-Canada/McGill University
Sinclair Bio-Resources
Sinclair Research
Sleep Research Society
Smithers Avanza Toxicology Services LLC
Society for Neuroscience
Society for Research on Biological Rhythms
Society of Toxicology
States United for Biomedical Research
Taconic Biosciences
Takeda Pharmaceuticals
Texas Society for Biomedical Research
Tulane University
The Society of University Surgeons
Understanding Animal Research
Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia
University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Durham
University of Hawaii System
University of Houston Division of Research
University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Maryland School of Medicine
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota Research Animal Resources
University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center
The University of Oklahoma
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania Animal Welfare
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine
University of Wisconsin-Madison Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center
VetEquip Inc.
Wake Forest University
Washington Animal Research Network
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
Yale University
Zoological Association of America

Click here to view the docket which includes all relevant documents.

Posted on Sept. 25 , 2018