Unnecessary Fuss

Unnecessary Fuss
Cover of the 1984 PETA film based on footage removed from the University of Pennsylvania by the Animal Liberation Front.
Produced by	Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco (PETA)
Running time	26 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Animal testing Main articles Animal testing Alternatives to animal testing Testing on: invertebrates frogs · primates rabbits · rodents Animal testing regulations History of animal testing History of model organisms IACUC Laboratory animal sources Pain and suffering in lab animals Testing cosmetics on animals Toxicology testing Vivisection Issues Biomedical research Animal rights · Animal welfare Animals (Scientific Procedures) Great ape research ban International trade in primates Cases Brown Dog affair Cambridge University primates Pit of despair Silver Spring monkeys UCR 1985 laboratory raid Unnecessary Fuss Companies Jackson Laboratory Charles River Laboratories, Inc. Covance · Harlan Huntingdon Life Sciences UK lab animal suppliers Nafovanny · Shamrock Groups/campaigns AALAS · AAAS · ALF Americans for Medical Progress Boyd Group · BUAV Dr Hadwen Trust Foundation for Biomedical Research · FRAME National Anti-Vivisection Society New England Anti-Vivisection Society PETA · Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Primate Freedom Project Pro-Test SPEAK · SHAC Speaking of Research Understanding Animal Research Writers/activists Tipu Aziz · Michael Balls Neal Barnard · Colin Blakemore Simon Festing · Gill Langley Ingrid Newkirk · Bernard Rollin Jerry Vlasak · Syed Ziaur Rahman Categories Animal testing · Animal rights Animal welfare Related templates This box:

Unnecessary Fuss is a film produced by Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), showing footage shot inside the University of Pennsylvania's Head Injury Clinic in Philadelphia.

The footage was shot in 1983–1984 by the researchers themselves as they inflicted brain damage on baboons with a hydraulic device. The experiments were conducted as part of a research project into head injuries caused by vehicle and sports accidents. The footage shows the researchers laughing at the baboons as the brain damage is inflicted.

Sixty hours of audio- and videotape were removed from the laboratory during a raid in May 1984 by the Animal Liberation Front, who handed it over to PETA. It was subsequently edited down to 26 minutes with a voice-over commentary by Newkirk, before being distributed to the media and Congress. Charles McCarthy, director of the Office for Protection from Research Risks (OPRR) wrote that the film had overstated the deficiencies in the clinic, but that the OPRR had found serious violations of the Guide for Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. As a result of the publicity, the lab was closed, the chief veterinarian fired, and the university placed on probation.

The title of the film comes from a statement made to The Globe and Mail by the head of the clinic, neurosurgeon Thomas Gennarelli before the raid. He declined to describe his research to the newspaper because, he said, it had "the potential to stir up all sorts of unnecessary fuss ..."

Main articles
Animal testing
Alternatives to animal testing
Testing on: invertebrates
frogs · primates
rabbits · rodents
Animal testing regulations
History of animal testing
History of model organisms
IACUC
Laboratory animal sources
Pain and suffering in lab animals
Testing cosmetics on animals
Toxicology testing
Vivisection