About MAAT

Science without suffering.

The March to Abolish Animal Testing is a national campaign for better science, greater transparency, and compassion for every animal.

The Why

Because compassion without action isn't enough. And when we march together, we have the power to change the world.

Throughout history, marches have been catalysts for extraordinary social change. They've brought injustice into the spotlight, challenged powerful institutions, united communities, and proven that ordinary people, standing together, can accomplish extraordinary things.

We believe the fight to end animal testing deserves that same energy, visibility, and collective determination.

Every day, millions of sentient beings suffer behind closed laboratory doors. Dogs, cats, primates, mice, and countless other animals are confined, subjected to painful experiments, and treated as disposable research tools. Meanwhile, advances in human-relevant, non-animal research methods offer opportunities to improve science without inflicting suffering.

We march to make the invisible visible. To expose the suffering hidden behind laboratory walls. To demand an end to animal experimentation and a future built on science without suffering.

Marching is more than a protest. It's a powerful act of solidarity with animals who cannot speak for themselves. It's a way to bring people together across backgrounds, beliefs, and communities around a shared commitment to ending animal exploitation.

And there's something extraordinary that happens when people come together in person, united by a common purpose. We build connections, inspire courage, generate momentum, and remind one another that none of us is fighting this fight alone.

Our marches are designed to do more than raise awareness. They're strategic, bold, peaceful demonstrations with clear demands: ending taxpayer-funded animal experimentation, accelerating the transition to modern, human-relevant research methods, and holding the institutions that perpetuate animal suffering accountable.

We march because progress doesn't happen by waiting for someone else to lead the way.

We march because their lives matter. Because better science is possible. Because our voices matter. And because together, we are a force for change.

This is more than a march. It's a movement. And we're just getting started.

— Gretchen & Ella, Campaign Co-Directors

Meet the Co-Founders and Co-Directors

The people behind the march.

Ella Magers and Gretchen Primack embrace among supporters at an animal advocacy demonstration.
Ella Magers and Gretchen Primack at an animal advocacy demonstration. Photo by Robert Sturman.
Gretchen Primack holding a dog

Gretchen Primack

Co-Founder and Co-Director

Gretchen Primack is a writer and animal rights activist living in the mid-Hudson Valley of New York. She is the author of three poetry collections: Kind (Lantern Books 2021), which explores the dynamic between humans and (other) animals; Visiting Days (Willow Books 2019), set in a maximum-security men's prison like the ones where she taught for 20 years; and Doris's Red Spaces (Mayapple Press 2014). She also co-wrote, with Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary founder Jenny Brown, the memoir The Lucky Ones: My Passionate Fight for Farm Animals (Penguin Avery). Her poems have appeared in The Paris Review, Prairie Schooner, Ploughshares, and many other journals and anthologies.

Ella Magers holding a beagle at an animal advocacy gathering

Ella Magers, MSW

Co-Founder and Co-Director

Ella Magers is an internationally recognized animal rights advocate, professional speaker, and holistic fitness coach dedicated to creating a healthier, more compassionate world for all beings. A vegan for over 30 years, she has spent her career inspiring people to embody fierce compassion through coaching, education, public speaking, and grassroots activism. She serves on the founding Board of Directors of Hogs & Kisses Farm Sanctuary and is co-founder of the historic March to Abolish Animal Testing. Following the open rescue effort at Ridglan Farms, Ella adopted Jane—a beagle bred for the laboratory industry—whose new life serves as a daily reminder of what's at stake in the fight to end animal experimentation. Learn more at EllaMagers.com.

What is MAAT?

MAAT is a bold national campaign designed to accelerate the abolition of animal experimentation through mass public awareness, political pressure, coalition-building, media visibility, and large-scale nonviolent action.

  • A 207-mile march from Albany across New York State, ending with a peaceful action at Marshall BioResources.
  • A culminating Marshall event where participants stood together without needing to walk the full route.
  • Daily press moments, public education, and community events along the route.
  • Storytelling from survivors, rescuers, scientists, students, and former lab workers.
  • Legislative and corporate pressure to move science beyond animal suffering.

Core Campaign Goals

  1. End federal funding for animal experimentation. Advocate for eliminating taxpayer funding of animal experiments and major investment in modern, human-relevant methods.
  2. Ban the use of dogs in experimentation. Start with a focused, winnable species campaign that can build the foundation for wider protections.
  3. Increase transparency and accountability. Push for disclosure, independent oversight, whistleblower protections, and stricter enforcement.
  4. Shut down major breeding facilities. Sustain pressure on facilities such as Marshall BioResources and the larger commercial pipeline.

The Difference

This campaign leads with modernization as well as compassion. It is pro-science, pro-transparency, anti-cruelty, and future-focused.

The message is not that science must give something up. The message is that better science is already possible, and public policy should catch up.

Coalition Building

No single organization can move a campaign of this scale alone. MAAT is built for activists, animal protection organizations, scientists, healthcare professionals, students, faith leaders, rescue groups, artists, lawmakers, and everyday people.

Together, we can build a future where science advances without suffering.

Partners & Endorsements

Organizations and voices standing with MAAT.

Coalition partners and individual endorsers are helping carry the call for better science, transparency, and compassion.

Against All Oddz Animal Alliance
The Aisling Center
Allied Scholars for Animal Protection
Animal Activism Collective
Animal Cruelty Exposure Fund
Animal Defenders International
Animal Rights Rochester
Animal Wellness Action
Ayres Memorial Animal Shelter, Inc.
BE Magazine
Beagle Lovers & Rescuers
Bernard's Beagle Rescue
Black, Brown and Diverse Plant-Based People for Equity Inc. (BBDPPE)
Blue's Bunny Kingdom
Born on Death Row
Capital Region Vegan Network
Center for a Humane Economy
Center for Contemporary Sciences
Christian Animal Rights Association
Compassion Consortium
Connect for Animals
Dane 4 Dogs
Dharma Voices for Animals
For The Animals
Furever Ferrets Sanctuary Inc.
HoneyPaws
Horseracing Wrongs
Humane Options New York
HumaneCNY
In Behalf of Animals
In Defense of Animals
Jamie's Corner
Legal Action Network for Animals
The League of Humane Voters of New York
Main Street Vegan Academy
NAVS
NYSHA
Peace Ridge Sanctuary
People for Animal Rights
PETA
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Plumes
Positive Change for Animals
Pro-Animal Future
Representing Animals
Reveal Impact
Rise for Animals
Rochester Animal Defenders
Rochester Lifestyle Medicine Institute
Rochester VegFest
RP
Save the Dogs UK
NYC Second Chance Rescue
Second Chance Canine Adoption Shelter
Simple Heart
SPCA International
Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! (SAEN)
Tamerlaine Sanctuary & Preserve
The Anti-Vivisection Alliance
The Camp Beagle
The Marty Project
The Vegan Grocery Store
the WellBeing
UnchainedTV
v-dog
Vegan America
Vegan Squad
We Animals
Western Mass. Animal Rights Advocates