J & J stops using animals to demonstrate products

[Catherine]

Johnson and Johnson has had the practice of using live animals to demonstrate its medical equipment.  Peta has pressured them to stop and has finally made the issue public.
The company has now announced that it will stop the practice.

http://news.google.ca/news/url?sr=1&ct2=...t=2&at=dt0

It is not a 100% response, but there is a commitment to making the change. There are other ways to safely demonstrate their supplies. No animal ever needed to suffer or die for this.  This is a big company. If they change then it will be easier to get other smaller companies to respond.

Never doubt that protesting and bringing issues to light has no effect. If we as consumers make it clear that we want animals treated better then we have to power to make it happen. It is not going to happen suddenly, but companies respond to pressure from people who care about animals.

[Tobi]

Johnson and Johnson are up there in "Big Pharma", so it is good that they have made this decision and let's hope it must set a precedent.
Thank you PETA and all who support your work.

Yet now I wonder....what becomes of those animals J&J will no longer use? Which, presumably, have been bred for laboratory purposes? Let us hope they will go to Rescues where they can be re-homed! (??)

[Catherine]

I am not sure of the details, but most lab animals are specially bred for that purpose. Big companies buy them from suppliers. All the big company does is stop ordering the animals. The suppliers will cut back on their breeding if they get less orders. Maybe they will rethink their business and move in other directions.

Sadly none of these animals will ever end up as pets unless there is some kind of intervention to buy the animals.

(I think years ago we found an article about some animal rescue group buying a chinchilla farm and turning all the animals into pets)

J&J is a big company. I think other companies will take note. People are already choosing products from companies that never tested on animals in the first place. I am hoping it is the beginning of a trend.