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This excerpt taken from the LLY DEF 14A filed Mar 5, 2007. Item 5. Shareholder Proposal Regarding Care and Use of Animals
Jamie Moran, P.O. Box 15889, Seattle, Washington 98115 and Meredith Page, on behalf of People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), 501 Front Street, Norfolk, Virginia 23510, beneficial
owner of approximately 675 and 100 shares, respectively, have submitted the following proposal.
Resolved, that the Board issue a report to shareholders on the feasibility of amending the
Company’s Animal Care and Use Policy to ensure that: i) it extends to all contract laboratories and
is reviewed with such outside laboratories on a regular basis, and ii) it addresses animals’ social
and behavioral needs. Further, the shareholders request that the report include information on the
extent to which in-house and contract laboratories are adhering to the Policy, including the
implementation of enrichment measures.
Supporting Statement:
Our Company conducts tests on animals as part of its product research and
development, as well as retaining independent laboratories to conduct such tests. Abuses in
independent laboratories are not uncommon and have recently been exposed by the media. Eli Lilly
has posted on its Web site an Animal Care and Use Policy. The Company, as an industry leader, is
commended for its stated commitment to an “ethical and scientific obligation to ensure the
appropriate treatment of animals used in research...”1
However, the disclosure of atrocities recorded at Covance, Inc., an independent laboratory
headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey,2 has made the need for a formalized, publicly
available animal welfare policy that extends to all outside contractors all the more relevant,
indeed urgent.3 Filmed footage showed primates being subjected to such gross physical
abuses and psychological torments that Covance sued to enjoin People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals in Europe from publicizing it. The Honorable Judge Peter Langan in the United Kingdom
refused to stop PETA from publicizing the film and instead ruled in PETA’s favor. The Judge stated
in his opinion that the “rough manner in which the animals are handled and the bleakness of the
surroundings in which they are kept... even to a viewer with no particular interest in animal
welfare, at least cry out for explanation.”4
Shareholders cannot monitor what goes on behind the closed doors of the animal testing
laboratories, so the Company must. Accordingly, we urge the Board to commit to promoting basic
animal welfare measures as an integral part of our Company’s corporate stewardship.
We urge shareholders to support this Resolution.
Statement in Opposition to Animal Care and Use Proposal and International Outsourcing of Animal Research Proposal
The public policy and compliance committee of the board has reviewed both proposals submitted on
PETA’s behalf (this Item 5 and Item 6 below) and believes that additional reporting is an
unnecessary use of company resources. Lilly’s current report on our use of animals can be found
in our Corporate Citizenship Report on our website at www.lilly.com.
Lilly is dedicated to the discovery and development of medicines that improve the health and
well-being of people worldwide. This entails careful and thorough evaluation of our products. While
efforts to minimize the use of animal testing have been underway for some time, the appropriate use
of animals in research is essential to ensure that safe and efficacious medicines become available
to patients. Furthermore, it is a requirement dictated by regulatory agencies around the world.
Lilly fully recognizes the fundamental ethical obligation to treat animals used in
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research responsibly. We have both an ethical and a scientific interest in ensuring that
appropriate standards are in place at company and third party facilities to ensure appropriate
standards of animal care yield valid study results.
Lilly maintains the highest standards of animal care and use in all our facilities. In the
United States, Lilly has been accredited by the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of
Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC) for more than 30 years. AAALAC accreditation is a
voluntary process that includes a detailed, comprehensive review of research animal programs such
as animal care and use policies and procedures, animal environment, housing and management,
veterinary medical care, and physical plant operations. Globally, Lilly complies with local, state,
and national laws and regulations on the use of animals in research, which are enforced by the
relevant authorities. All animal facilities are subject to external review and inspection. For
example, our U.S. facilities are subject to unannounced site inspections by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. In Europe, local and national authorities regularly inspect all animal facilities.
As a global company, Lilly develops contractual relationships with select laboratory animal
research and animal supply companies inside and outside the United States. Animal research and
animal supply companies throughout the world are subject to local laws, which may vary from country
to country. Regardless of local variations, Lilly seeks to do business only with those companies
that share our commitment to animal welfare. Lilly requires these companies to comply with
applicable local laws and treat animals in a humane manner. To ensure animal welfare, Lilly has
increased oversight of these companies to assess their adherence to these expectations. In
addition, we continue to work to harmonize global animal welfare standards.
The board recommends that you vote AGAINST this proposal and Item 6 below.
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