PETA Points Finger at NFL, Claims League Is Funding Harmful Animal Research

PETA has recently issued a press release alleging that the National Football League is responsible for laboratory research that is harming animals.

Rick Chandler of SportsGrid.com reports that PETA has launched a petition titled “Unnecessary Roughness,” with the goal of stopping sports-injury research that is allegedly being conducted on animals. 

An excerpt from PETA’s press release:

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For years, the National Football League Foundation, formerly known as NFL Charities, has quietly funded horrific and deadly sports-injury experiments on dogs, mice, rats and other animals...These projects, many of which are ongoing, are crudely designed to recreate injuries on the football field.

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Their statement lists a number of universities in the U.S. allegedly conducting these experiments, along with “private laboratories.” 

PETA alleges that the experiments being conducted are designed to recreate head, spinal and other sports-related injuries. The website provided .GIF of one such alleged experiment, which shows a rat being thumped in the head with a metal rod. 

The release also states that severe knee injuries are being inflicted on dogs, which are subsequently put down and examined. PETA points to the NFL’s recent $765 million settlement with former players suffering from head injuries incurred on the playing field as the reason for the animal experiments. It also made mention of the league’s pledge to allocate $10 million to fund “research and education.”

The press release concluded that the alleged experiments are not only harmful to animals, but have been ineffective in research.

“Continuing to bash in animals’ heads and cripple dogs won’t help prevent and treat injuries sustained by NFL players. It’s time for a new playbook when it comes to advancing the science of treating traumatic injuries.”

The NFL has not responded PETA’s allegations as of the time of this writing.

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