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New Survey of Chandler Residents Reveals Strong Opposition to Proposed Covance Animal-Testing Facility
Local Doctor Will Join Physicians Group to Discuss Poll Results at June 20 News Conference in Chandler
CHANDLER, Ariz.—A clear majority of Chandler residents
oppose Covance’s plans to build an animal-testing facility
on Price Road, according to a new survey that will be released
by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) at
a news conference on June 20 at 10 a.m. at the Windmill Suites
of Chandler, Price Room, 3535 West Chandler Blvd. Deborah Wilson,
M.D., a local gynecologist and laproscopic surgeon, will join
other PCRM doctors to discuss the results of this telephone poll
of a random sample of 399 Chandler residents conducted by The
Summit Group.
Covance, a New Jersey-based company that tests cosmetic ingredients,
food additives, pesticides, and drugs on monkeys, dogs, cats,
and other animals, plans to build a 400,000-square-foot testing
facility in Chandler. The survey found that 56 percent of Chandler
residents oppose this project, with 44 percent strongly opposed.
An overwhelming majority—69 percent of respondents—were
more likely to oppose the project knowing that Covance was recently
fined by the federal government for physically abusing monkeys
in violation of the Animal Welfare Act.
“Chandler residents don’t want Covance in their
backyard. After all, the federal government has fined Covance
for animal cruelty and closed one of the company’s facilities
in Virginia because of an outbreak of the Ebola virus,” said
Aysha Akhtar, M.D., M.P.H., a PCRM neurologist and public health
expert who will speak at the news conference. Covance’s
chances of approval were hurt by recent revelations that the
facility may use an incinerator that could release toxins into
the atmosphere. The proposed facility is located near a public
school.
Other important survey findings:
- 51 percent of respondents were more likely to oppose the
project knowing that Covance might build an incinerator to
dispose of medical waste and dead animals.
- 58 percent of respondents were more likely to oppose the
project knowing that Covance is one of the world’s largest
breeders of dogs and the largest importer of monkeys used in
experiments.
- Only 26 percent of respondents were less likely to oppose
the facility knowing that it would bring new jobs to Chandler.
Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
is a nonprofit health organization that promotes preventive medicine,
especially good nutrition. PCRM also conducts clinical research
studies, opposes unethical human experimentation, and promotes
alternatives to animal research.
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Physicians Committee for Responsible
Medicine
5100 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., Ste. 400, Washington, DC 20016
Phone: 202-686-2210 | E-mail: pcrm@pcrm.org |
