There are over 65,000 dogs and 20,000 cats currently suffering in labs across the United States. These are animals just like the ones that we take into our homes, consider members of the family and love unconditionally, except they will likely never get to know this kind of love or care.

In labs, these animals are never given the chance to be anything other than a number. They are never given names, love or even the knowledge of what it is like to live outside the sterile walls of testing facility. And because most people are completely unaware of the fact that cats and dogs are used for experimentation, research facilities cycle through thousands of animals every year, completely unopposed.

If people were aware of the things that these animals were being forced to endure, they would never allow it to happen, which is exactly why labs want to keep it a secret. However, thanks to Beagle Freedom Project (BFP), this is not a secret that labs will be able to keep for much longer.

In their brilliant new campaign called the Identity Project, BFP is encouraging people to get to know one of these animals by adopting a laboratory animal. Pairing people with animals who are currently living in labs, BFP will work with adopters to gain information about their cat or dog through public records. Through this information, these animals become so much more than their identification numbers, they become individuals.

It is time that we held labs and testing facilities accountable for their actions. Treating living, breathing creatures like insignificant objects is completely unacceptable. Every animal deserves to have a life and story and by giving animals just this through the Identity Campaign, we can completely reshape public perceptions of animal testing.

To learn more about the Identity Campaign and adopt a lab animal, click here.