Lab animals deserve adoption or a caring retirement — not euthanasia

As an animal-loving taxpayer, I am devastated that dogs, cats and other animals who survive taxpayer-funded experiments are euthanized, even when they are healthy enough to be adopted out or retired. These innocent animals endure such pain throughout their short lives and are not given the chance for a happy ending. I am asking Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., to change that.

The National Institutes of Health, the Federal Drug Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense have all enacted policies allowing for the retirement of animals after testing ends, and Illinois has passed a law allowing for lab animal adoption.

I encourage Sen. Durbin to build on Illinois’ progress and join Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., in co-sponsoring the Animal Freedom from Testing, Experimentation and Research (AFTER) Act. This legislation, Senate Bill 1378, would require federal agencies to enact policies allowing for the retirement of animals no longer needed in government experimentation.

Taxpayers are forced to purchase animals for experiments, and they should have the right to adopt them.

David Kettler, Humboldt Park

Thank you, Rick Telander

It’s writers like Rick Telander who keep me subscribing to the Chicago Sun-Times. He is always so insightful and interesting, as shown in his column this last week about Kris Bryant and the Cubs. I have been reading Chicago newspapers and their sports sections for around 70 years, and Telander is right at the top of all the great sports writers. I have even gotten a print subscription to the Sun-Times for my 12-year-old grandson, who plays and loves sports, so that he can enjoy and learn about sports from insightful writers like Rick.

Thank you, Rick Telander, for all the good work.

Robert Sullivan, Downers Grove