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The Taiwanese government is on the cusp of finally and compassionately doing away with a gruesome test on rats to support dubious anti-arthritis claims for food and beverage products sold in Taiwan. We’d like all PETA supporters to please show your support for getting rid of this pointless and deadly test.
The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) currently recommends that food and beverage companies perform experiments on rats. Specifically, the TFDA recommends that experimenters inject chemicals into the joints of adolescent rats or to sever their joint tissue surgically to induce painful osteoarthritis, after which the rats would be starved for 12 hours and then killed and dissected. Pain relief would be intentionally withheld so as not to mask their pain and interfere with the results.
Actual photos of one of the procedures proposed by the TFDA’s draft regulation show how rats are drugged, cut open, crippled by severing their joint ligaments, imprisoned in cramped cages, killed, and dismembered.
That’s about to change.
Following years of pressure from PETA, the TFDA has announced a revised draft of this regulation that doesn’t require or recommend any animal experimentation and that would spare countless animals. It is a compassionate step in the right direction and would represent another huge win for animals.
But the regulation isn’t finalized yet. The agency is accepting public comments through April 13, 2025. A short letter of support from you could help ensure that no additional animals suffer and die to make food and beverage companies more money.
Your Support Makes Positive Change
Pressure from PETA has helped ensure numerous other wins for animals in Taiwan: Scores of vulnerable animals no longer are drowned or electroshocked, bred to develop hypertension, fed sugar and bacteria to develop dental decay, or fed an iron-deficient diet to develop anemia in order for companies to make anti-fatigue, blood pressure–lowering, teeth health, or blood iron related health claims for food and beverages, and the TFDA now prioritizes internationally recognized, non-animal tests to assess food safety.
PETA is leading a global trend against animal testing after persuading dozens of food and beverage companies, including some major companies in Taiwan, to end (or commit to never starting) experiments on animals.
What You Can Do
Please TAKE ACTION today by sending the TFDA a polite letter of encouragement, letting it know you appreciate its draft proposal and urging it to follow through by keeping animal testing out of the final version of the regulation for health claims regarding knee joint protection in humans.