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The Horror: Animal Testing Illustrated

Wed, 2010-11-17 17:15 — Leti
 

Translated from L’horreur : l’expérimentation animale en images by Valerie Kwan.

Warning!!!  Some readers may find these images shocking.
 
Many are unaware of the way animals are treated in the name of science.
Vivisection (experiments involving animals) is one of the most secretive, controversial and questionable practices used in science and by industry.  Animals are used in medical, physics and biology research labs and also in the tobacco, military andchemical industries.

Since the 16th century, animals have been used as guinea pigs to study the mysteries of the body and the circulatory system, to test the effects of drugs, poisons and other substances and also to verify the safety of scientific and industrial practices.  Primates, rabbits, mice, rats, dogs, cats, pigs and other animals have been slaughtered in the name of science and progress.
 
Three animals die every second in laboratories around the world.

  

 
Animal Testing in Numbers
 
According to One Voice, which is dedicated to fighting animal testing and has been gathering data for several years:
  • 12.1 million animals are used in experiments in 27 EU countries
  • 3 countries are responsible for 50% of all EU testing (in decreasing order): France, United Kingdom, Germany
  • 33% of these animals are used for scientific research.  No conclusive medical results have been obtained.
  • + 892% for testing in the pet food industry
  • + 107% for clinical testing of cosmetics, despite this being banned according to law 2003/15/CE
  • + 4.86% of animals used in France compared to 2001
  • + 140 000 mice used in France compared to 2001
  • 336 727 animals sacrificed in France, including 285 dogs and 229 primates

(Data from a 2005 European Commission statistical report and a 2004 statistical report by the French Ministry for Higher Education and Research)

99% of these experiments are repetitive and are only conducted to justify research grants and sponsorship, or to publish results and gain some standing within the scientific community.  These researchers spurn the significant accumulation of existing knowledge that renders any further replications of experiments and tests useless, the majority of which are not applicable to humans.  In certain cases, these experiments impede scientific progress.

In other cases, after having sacrificed thousands of animals, tested products have proved dangerous for humans despite animal testing, due to secondary effects or absolute contraindications for some patients.  These faulty conclusions have led to the deaths of many people, but not to a reassessment of the utility (or inutility) of these methods.
Other scientists use animal testing to indulge a sick form of curiosity.  At Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, USA, scientists play at being God, with head transplants being carried out by Robert J. White, a professor of neurosurgery.  The primates survived a mere 96 hours after the effects of anesthesia.  When is he planning to begin experiments on humans?
Society closes its eyes to these facts in order to benefit from experimental results without knowing what they are and how they are conducted.  While speaking of respect for animals and denouncing animal cruelty, some believe that we are opposed to medical progress to the detriment of human beings.  For many, in the name of science and human health, anything is justified.

 
A "lab animal" is a healthy animal that is infected with a disease or other illness in order to subsequently perform surgery on it, not to heal the animal but to find a treatment for the illness.  These animals suffer the pains linked to illnesses and await nothing but death, as they are sacrificed when no longer deemed useful.  As well, throughout this process the animal is prisoner for life in a minuscule cage and it knows perfectly that every time it is freed from its prison, it is to be treated to painful operations.  Monkeys, dogs, cats, horses, cows, pigs, rabbits, sheep, goats, chinchillas, marmots, mice, rats, all kinds of mammals, reptiles and even bats, birds, fish etc. are raw material for lab experiments.

 

Cosmetics industry testing

The cosmetics industry is a prime example of the inutility of 90% of testing.
Shaving creams and toothpastes are introduced by force into animals' stomachs; enormous doses of hair removal products or dyes cause horrific ulcers; irritating substances are applied to the eyes of restrained rabbits (Draize testing) until the eye becomes ulcerated.  Other tests cause hemorrhaging, convulsions and a slow and painful death.

 
Draize Testing
 
To test a new shampoo, for example, a large number of rabbits are placed in crates with only one hole for the head, which prevents the animal from hiding or moving.  The hole is as narrow as the animal's neck.
Over the course of several days, "researchers" pour a concentrated solution of the product in question into one eye, with the healthy eye being used as a reference.  Why are rabbits used?  Since these animals produce very few tears, the animals' eyes are not able to eliminate the applied substance.  To further ensure the success of the experiment, the animal's eyelids are held open with clips, which prevents the animal from blinking or closing its eyes when exposed to the pain-causing substance.  The animal is completely helpless in its suffering.
The strongest reactions cause vision loss and commonly irritation and swelling.  The animals cry out, claw at the crates in search of relief from their pain, and many break their spinal column in a desperate attempt to escape their pain.

Dermatological testing
 
One example among many others.  Exposed skin is essential for this type of testing; fur is removed using adhesive tape.  The animal is restrained so that it is unable to scratch or lick its wound.  Irritating substances are applied and the body part under examination is covered with a bandage.  The "researchers" observe the reaction to the substance in a few days' time.  This experiment is repeated on the same part of the body during the course of a year.

Domestic animals are the raw material of laboratory testing
Even though millions of people own and love their pets, they are unaware of the fate of their fellow creatures in science labs.
Deplorable living conditions and transportation, violence, imprisonment, neglect...
Poisoning, maiming, burns, electrocution, food and water deprivation, situations causing anxiety or distress for behavioural, physical and chemical studies, abandonment and death.
 
There are thousands of examples of barbarism and cruelty.  For example, in France all displays of tenderness or care towards laboratory animals are prohibited. Researchers are in effect encouraged to consider lab animals as objects and not as feeling creatures.  The sadism of some researchers further worsens this already grave situation.

 

 

 

Economic issues at the expense of progress and ethics
 
Animal testing represents a fertile market worth several billion euros.  Our taxes also finance this lucrative business.  Only political will can lead to the development of alternative methods which will sound the death knoll for this scientific tradition and also enable major advances in medical knowledge.
Many business sectors would benefit: animal breeders and suppliers, the transport industry, equipment manufacturers, the food industry, laboratories, etc....

 

This abhorrent practice, financed by our tax money and research grants, contributes indirectly to the persisentence of these experiments instead of financing scientific progress, despite the existence of alternative methods.  If the money destined for animal testing was instead assigned to the research of substitute practices, this would enable enormous advances in research.  If people knew what really happens in laboratories, many would refuse to finance these projects.  Growth in the market for products that are "not tested on animals" demonstrates that consumers are increasingly demanding higher ethical standards for consumption goods.

 
Development of alternative methods
 
More reliable, less expensive and with quicker results, alternative methods also have the advantage of being ethical and state-of-the-art due to their recent development.
Cell, tissue, organ and microbial cultures, molecular biology, post-mortem tissue research, computer simulations, clinical studies on volunteer patients, virtual dissection, etc....  Today, there is an alternative method to test the toxicity of the majority of products.  Inexpensive, more effective, quicker and more respectful of living creatures.
Three billion euros are allocated to animal testing while only 12 million euros are designated for the development of alternative methods.
 
Numerous organizations such as the Physicians Committee for a Responsible Medicine, EuroNICHE, the American Anti-vivisection Society, the National Anti-vivisection Society, the New England Anti-vivisection Society and many others, develop and propose procedures that are completely cruelty-free (such as the Stanford University School of Medicine, Harvard, NY, Ohio, ... which do not use animals for learning exercises, and Israel, where experiments involving possible harm to animals are not permitted in teaching institutions).
As long as we citizens refrain from decrying these practices, and as long as we continue to consume the fruit of these cruel acts, millions of animals will continue to suffer every year.  Victims of our own indifference.
 
To sign the petition, click here (see bottom of the new page)
Products that are not tested on animals do exist: they are not more expensive nor less effective.  They are simply more ethical.
Can anyone imagine the suffering and terrible deaths of these animals?
The following companies test on animals:
L'Oréal, Proctor & Gamble, Ariel, Pampers, Colgate-Palmolive, Tampax, Hugo Boss, Kleenex, Nestlé, etc.
WORLD LAB ANIMAL LIBERATION WEEK (more info here)
ARTE documentary on lab monkeys (in French), in 6 parts:
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