I am writing to request that your agency end funding for inapplicable PTSD experiments involving animals, and instead direct funding to increasing patient access to existing, effective therapies. 

Therapies like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), for example, have demonstrated remarkable outcomes.  One study found that 77% of combat veterans were free of PTSD in only 12 sessions.  Another study found that 100% of single-trauma victims and 77% of multiple-trauma victims were free from PTSD after only six 50-minute sessions of EMDR. 

This, and other therapies like cognitive behavior therapy, Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) and exposure therapy, are low-cost, drug-free and highly effective, yet they are vastly underutilized.  

Research shows that while millions of people currently suffer from PTSD, it is estimated that only 10% have access to cost-effective, evidence-based therapies currently recommended by the Department of Veterans Affairs to treat PTSD. 

Upwards of 90% of all drugs that appear successful in animal experiments fail in human clinical trials because of a lack of safety or efficacy, demonstrating that animal models are inadequate.  The repeated failures of animal research result in exorbitant costs and unnecessary delays in discovering treatments.  

Please stop wasting time and funding on irrelevant animal experiments that impose psychological trauma and suffering on animals. Funding should go towards ensuring that effective treatments are reaching those who need them, and to human-relevant research that can provide insights into human treatment.