Animal Testing

In addition to filing resolutions about animal products, noted above, PETA this year has a proposal that raises concern about a type of laboratory animal test that has never been addressed in a shareholder proposal before. Filed at AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Pfizer, it asks each company not to use the “Forced Swim Test” in experiments that simulate drowning for the development of anti-depression medication, saying it has “questionable scientific validity.” PETA withdrew at AbbVie, noting in a December press release that the company agreed not to use the test. The other three recipients all have lodged challenges at the SEC. All three companies say it concerns ordinary business, while Eli Lilly and Pfizer also argue it is not significantly related to their operations. Pfizer notes it has not used the test to which PETA objects since 2009 and has no plans to use it in the future.