Update: Live Dog Lab at Medical College of Wisconsin

I am sorry to announce that, despite everyone’s determined efforts, the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) went forward with its live dog lab on Feb. 26, 27, and 28. Sadly, about 60 dogs were killed—but these animals did not die in vain. With your help, we were able to raise public awareness about the dog lab and urge the school to implement humane alternatives. MCW has felt enormous pressure to change, and our efforts will continue.

On Jan. 25, more than 100 people peacefully demonstrated in front of MCW. I was gratified to see such a huge turnout. We asked MCW to cancel the lab, and we encouraged students not to participate. We held another demonstration on Feb. 26, the day the lab began, and more than 60 people joined me in front of the school. Two smaller demonstrations, both well attended, were held on Feb. 27 and 28. For every day the dog lab took place, we were present at MCW to encourage the school to end its use of live animals. And that’s just the beginning of the many successes we have had with this campaign so far:

* To date, MCW has received more than 4,000 e-mails urging the school to cancel the live animal lab program and implement humane alternatives.
* PCRM gave MCW petitions signed by more than 550 physicians from around the country who oppose the use of animals in medical education at MCW and other medical schools.
* PCRM garnered extensive media coverage, including news coverage on local radio stations and all four Milwaukee television stations as well as numerous articles and opinion pieces in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other newspapers.
* In January, PCRM and the Wisconsin Humane Society sponsored a billboard on a Milwaukee freeway that called on motorists to visit PCRM’s Web site about the dog lab and humane alternatives.

Now it’s time to keep the pressure on MCW. School representatives claim that MCW may replace the live dog lab with a live pig lab. Please let MCW know that using any animal in a live lab is cruel and unnecessary. Call MCW Department of Physiology Chairman Allen Cowley Jr., Ph.D., at 414-456-8277 and politely ask him to end the school’s live animal lab program. While our automatic e-mail form is temporarily out of service, you can still use the address below to send Dr. Cowley an e-mail or letter:

Allen Cowley Jr., Ph.D.
Chairman
Department of Physiology
Medical College of Wisconsin
8701 Watertown Plank Rd.
Milwaukee, WI 53226
Phone: 414-456-8277
Fax: 414-456-6546
cowley@mcw.edu

You can also help support PCRM’s efforts to end live animal labs at MCW and other medical schools by making an online donation today. Thanks to generous contributions from our supporters, we were able to initiate this wide-reaching campaign to convince MCW to use humane alternatives. But our work is not done at MCW or the 14 other schools that still conduct live animal labs. We need your help to continue this fight until animals are no longer killed as part of the curriculum at any medical school.

Thanks to PCRM physicians, members, our friends at the Wisconsin Humane Society, and countless others, the pressure we collectively put on MCW this year will greatly help our future work to end MCW’s live animal program. Please visit www.SaveMCWanimals.org to learn more about how you can help. If you have any questions, please contact me at rmerkley@pcrm.org or 202-686-2210, ext. 336. Thank you so much for your support.

Best regards,
Ryan Merkley
Research Program Coordinator
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine