When Hollywood and Marvel denounce animal experimentation.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 did what few films have done before: tell a beautiful, compassionate story about animal testing to an audience the size of Marvel's. The film features beautifully animated animals, such as Rocket, Lylla, Floor and Teefs, who bring strong emotions to viewers while exposing the harms of animal testing. James Gunn's screenplay doesn't shy away from a difficult (but often true to life) subject matter, and we're thrilled to follow a story about empathy for all living and sentient beings.

For his benevolent and compelling portrayal of Rocket and his friends and for reminding moviegoers that animals tortured in labs are sentient beings and not the numbers tattooed on them, PETA USA awarded Gunn (who is also the film's director) the Not a Number award.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 exposes the reality of animals in laboratories

Marvel reveals Rocket's story while opening viewers' eyes to the horrors of animal testing. Nebula says it best: the use of animals for experimentation is "worse than anything Thanos has done," and it needs to be stopped.

Here are some of the revelations made by Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 on the animals used for the experiment:

• Animals are given identification numbers like 89P13 instead of names.
• Their ID number is usually tattooed on their chest, like Lylla and Rocket's, or inside their ears.

Left: Marvel Studios

• While Rocket and Floor, as well as Lylla and Teefs, are placed together in the film, this is often not the case in reality. Employees keep many species of animals in separate small cages. But like in the film, the cages are tiny and the animals have little or no opportunity for entertainment.
• As a baby, Rocket is shown strapped to a restraint device while the Evolutionary and OrgoCorp scientists experiment on him. The device used in the film bears an uncanny resemblance to those experimenters use to immobilize primates in real-life labs.

Left: Marvel Studios

• Experiments are often driven by curiosity and serve no real purpose.

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This film imagines a future where animals can live in peace — a future that PETA is actively working towards by promoting animal-free research methods that will actually lead to treatments and cures for human diseases. Moviegoers can expand their knowledge of our work to end animal testing labs by browsing our site. And head to theaters to see this hard-hitting story.

ACT FOR ANIMALS LIKE ROCKET

Written by : Marie J. - PETA France

Photos courtesy of PETA France