An online petition opposing AstraZeneca PLC’s plans to build an animal testing lab as part of a proposed research center has collected almost 5,000 signatures in fewer than two weeks.

The animal rights activist organization Cambridge against AstraZeneca PLC Planning, or CAP, is opposed to the proposed animal testing facilities at the planned site. The Cambridge City Council is expected to vote on the proposal in February.

“As part of our opposition we are politely contacting AstraZeneca before the planning meeting takes place, urgently asking them to drop the animal lab from their planned HQ,” the petition says.

 The online petition, set up on Change.org, is 270 signatures away from a goal of 5,000 signatures. Created Jan. 15, the petition has drawn signatures from around the world, including Canada, Sweden, the United States as well as the United Kingdom.

In a letter to London-based AstraZeneca, the members of CAP called for the pharmaceutical company to reduce and eventually eliminate testing products on animals over the next several years.

 

Source: BioSpace.com