ANIMAL ABUSE
Animal testing is in itself cruel. The idea of poisoning, mutilating and torturing an animal in various ways to see the effect is sickening, however there are different means of experimentation which are common practice and below we have aimed to set them out, along with the various details of animal supply.
VIVISECTION BREEDING
Inside Highgate Rabbit Farm
The breeding of animals for research is done in the same way as other farming industries (for example fur or meat), using intensive methods. Rodents are kept in small pens (or cages in the case of rabbits and mice, rats) and left to breed. Little or no nesting materials are provided, something which breeding animals in the wild have as common place. The cages and pens are usually bare, with the exception of feed and water, so stereotypic behaviour is often expressed. It has been documented that mothers often eat their young; either as a result of the stressful environment or because there is no sign of a safe future for their offspring. Due to the harsh environment and strains, many animals often die and are left for days until the weekly cleaning rota is undertaken. Animals bred for research are usually kept in a Specialist Pathogen-Free (SPF) unit to prevent germs, however this is not always the case. In Yorkshire, we have a number of companies supplying animals for research (namely Brow Well Fisheries and Albert Hall Farms) who do not use this method as research is not their prime industry to supply to.
Farm animals used for vivisection are bred using the same factory farming techniques as those for meat, with the exception of the purposely bred Göttingen Mini-Pig (a miniature pig, genetically modified so as to fit in smaller cages and be easier to handle).
Beagle puppy cowering at Harlan UK, Leicesterhire
Beagle dogs are bred in kennel units, which again are often bare with the exception of a scoop full of sawdust, food and water. Again, mothers often eat their offspring due to stress. The bitches are used as nothing more than breeding machines and are constantly forced through the maternal cycle repeatedly until they are culled for being no further of use. Fighting in these units is a regular occurrence due to lack of stimulation and socialisation.
Any animals not seen as a good enough quality for the client are killed and are dissected so their organs, plasma and body parts can be sold on for further profit.
Wild Caught Primates
The majority of primates used in research have been caught in the wild and exported from the jungles of Vietnam, China and Mauritius. It is extremely difficult to breed primates in captivity due to the amount of stress undertaken, so the cheaper and most preferred method for breeders (such as Charles River, and part-Covance owned Noveprim) is to take animals directly out of their natural habitat and ship them to laboratories across the globe, such as UK-based Huntingdon Life Sciences.
Primates are lured into traps using sugar cane as bait, where they are then captured and shipped to some form of holding centre. From there, they are put in tiny crates and flown to other countries – many die in transportation. Imagine the fear these animals are going through; one minute running wild and free, the next being caught up in a tiny stainless steel cage and poisoned to death.
EXPERIMENTATION
Experimentation on animals takes a number of different forms and is conducted by a variety of organisations. Below we have listed the main types of testing used and a brief summery of how they are conducted.
What is a C.R.O.?
A Contract Research Organisation (CRO) is a company who conduct commercial testing on animals on behalf of other companies or organisations. Many individual companies have closed down their own animal research facilities due to mounting pressure, so pay other commercial laboratories to do this on their behalf. The largest in Europe is Huntingdon Life Sciences, however in Yorkshire we have Covance Laboratories in Harrogate who do the same forms of research. CRO’s will basically test anything for anybody on any animal, as long as they are paid for it.
What is toxicology?
Toxicology is the study of a potentially-harmful chemical or substance and does not necessarily involve the use of animals, however most of the time vivisection is included in the research. In relation to in-vivo (animal) testing methods, the substance is forcefully given to the species chosen on a regular basis and the animal is left to die to see the effects. It is most certainly one of the most common and most painful forms of animal research occurring. Some of the methods used within toxicology testing are detailed below.
Oral Gavage
Oral Gavage is a method used whereby a pipe is forced down an animal’s throat into its stomach and the test substance pumped in. This will be done between two and ten times a day in each study, however the occurance is reflective on what the study sponsor requires. This is extremely painful and throat ruptures from the amount of force needed are well documented.
Inhalation Toxicology
Inhalation toxicology is extremely sickening and stressful for the animal involved. In the case of beagles, primates and larger animals they are forcefully restrained in some form of stereotaxic device and a mask strapped over their faces. The test substance is then pumped through as a gas and the animal is forced to inhale that until the exposure rate is over, or they die. The following is a quote from a study paper where CFC gases were being tested on dogs through the above method:
“Dog number 1185 trembling struggling…trembling nervous, 1181 pulling back in sling, struggling…1179 severe head tremors and whole body shaking…1187 closing of eyes, drooping of head, head supported by sling, slow deep breathing, staggering in sling, semi consciousness…1183 shaking of head, unconsciousness….1173 closing of eyes, hindlimbs splayed, unresponsiveness to stimuli.”
In the case of rodents, a restraint tube is used which is basically a chamber only just big enough to fit the animal in, and not turn around. The end is sealed and the test substance pumped in to replace the air, giving the animal no choice but to breath in the chemical being tested.
Irritation Toxicology
Irritation Toxicology is where a corrosive, or potentially harmful, substance is applied to a shaved area of an animals’ skin. The substance is then left on until it has some form of effect, ranging from causing a rash to eating the skin away down to the muscle. Head collars are put on the animal so they cannot lick the substance off.
Draize Test
Draize tests are one of the most well-known methods used in animal research and, although they are associated with cosmetics testing, are used to research any form of substance such as agrochemicals, garden and household products etc. An animal is restrained in some form of device so it cannot turn round or wipe the substance away and the test product is poured into its eye. Rabbits are the most frequently used species due to their lack of tear-ducts. This is an extremely painful form of animal testing, yet is so frequently used. The majority of the animals used will have the substance left in their eye until they go blind.
Lethal Dose 50 (LD50)
Lethal Dose 50, or LD50, involves the use of either oral gavage or injection of a substance. Basically all the animals are ‘given’ the test substance repeatedly until half of them die of poisoning and the effects. The amount of the substance given at that point is then termed the ‘Lethal Dose’ for when the item is put on the market for human use. This is extremely unscientific based on the fact that every other species is of a different size to humans and can consume less, or more, of a certain substance without it having an effect.
‘Academic’ Research
Academic animal testing can cover a large amount of areas, ranging from psychology, zoology to biology, food testing and farm animal research. It is difficult to cover this area in such small detail due to the variety of testing conducted, however a lot of it is on the same basis as a Contract Research Organisation and the same methods used. Others include field studies – capturing animals in the wild then taking them to a laboratory to conduct tests, before they are killed due to not being able to be returned back to their natural habitat. Primates and cats are commonly used in psychology testing, where their skulls are cut open and various things done to their brains. In West Yorkshire, we have two universities who conduct animal research – Leeds and Bradford.
Warfare Experiments
Warfare Experiments tend to be conducted at government facilities, including the infamous DSTL Porton Down in Salisbury, Wiltshire. Again, a range of testing is conducted however it is more confined to experimenting with weaponry and biological warfare. For example, at Porton Down pigs have been shot at with flamethrowers until their skin is raw and missing to conduct burns research. Mustard Gas has been testing on primates through inhalation toxicology, animals shot with bullets and taser guns. Most of these experiments are kept top secret, even more so than general animal testing.
SCIENTIFIC FRAUD
Most people who support animal research do so on the basis they believe it can benefit the human species and cure diseases in some form, however below we have summarised why the reality is much different.
The prime reason as to why animal testing cannot be applied to humans is due to the difference in species, genetic make-up and vary in physiology and biology. We simply cannot get the results from one species and apply it to another. Beagle dogs, for example, cannot get heart disease due to being designed for a high intake of meat in their diet due to being solely carnivores, yet heart disease is rife in the human population. Lemon juice, something used commonly, can kill cats as do grapes to dogs. According to the managing director of Huntingdon Life Sciences, animal research is only effective “5-25% of the time” when applied to humans, thus reflecting on the massive difference in anatomy.
Pharmaceuticals
Every single pharmaceutical product on the market has some form of a side effect, even though it has been passed off as safe via animal research. These can range from headaches, dizziness to internal bleeding, hemorrhaging and heart attacks. Take Vioxx, for example, which was manufactured by pharmaceutical-giant Merck-Sharpe Dohm and tested on rodents and primates. This went onto the market and caused millions of people to be physiologically damaged through heart constraints, many had heart attacks and even died. Yet this drug, hailed as a breakthrough, went on to maim and kill despite going through animal research phases.
Chemicals
The testing of chemicals makes up a large part of animal research, so why is it that so many of these products are unsafe and carcinogenic when they have been proved as safe? Products made by major funders of animal testing, such as Bayer, Dow, Clariant etc go on to cause Cancer to those exposed to them.
For more information about the scientific invalidity of animal testing, visit Europeans for Medical Advancement
WHAT ABOUT THE COSMETICS TESTING BAN?
The cosmetics testing ban is in place in the UK, but has a number of major loopholes which allow companies to still conduct cosmetics research on animals. For example, an expose of Wickham Laboratories has revealed the regular testing of Botox on rodents and guinea-pigs, through LD50 testing, due to it being marketed as a medical product, when in fact is used for cosmetic purposes. Many companies also pay laboratories outside the UK to test their cosmetics products on animals, for example Procter and Gamble, Unilver and others.
YORKSHIRE COMPANIES INVOLVED IN ANIMAL TESTING:
AFOS GROUP (Manufacture morgue equipment and dissection tables for vivisection labs)
Kingston House,
Saxon Way, Priory Park West
Hessle, East Yorkshire,
HU13 9PB UK
Tel: 01482 372100
Fax: 01482 372150
info@afosgroup.com, webenquiry@afosgroup.com
Web: www.afosgroup.com
Management – neil.hartley@afosgroup.com, jayne.greene@afosgroup.com
AGENDA GROUP(Recruitment, vivisection training, marketing and security services for the animal research industry)
Mill View, Daisy Hill,
Burstwick, Hull,
East Yorkshire,
HU12 9HE
Tel: 01482 898686 / 01964 671791 / 01964 671207 / 0845 644 5545
Fax: 0845 644 5547
info@agenda-mc.co.uk, info@agenda-rm.co.uk, info@agenda-security.co.uk
BIO DECONTAMINATION LTD (Decontamination facilities for vivisection laboratories)
Unit 5, Craven Street Factory Estate
Hull, HU8 2AP
Tel: 01482 226945
mike@biodecontamination.co.uk
COVANCE CLINICAL RESEARCH UNIT (3rd Largest breeder of animals for research, plus are a C.R.O.)
Springfield House,
Hyde Street,
Leeds, LS2 9NG
Tel: 0113 237 350
COVANCE LABORATORIES (Vivisection lab – use primates, beagles, rodents, horses and farm animals)
Otley Road,
Harrogate, HG3 IP4 UK
Tel: 01423 500888
info@covance.com
Web: www.covance.com
DORTEK LTD(Design controlled environments and primate enclosures for labs)
St. Mark St.
Hull, HU8 7ED UK
Tel: 01482 226848
Fax: 01482 226843
sales@dortek.com
LAB ANIMAL EUROPE(Advertising for vivisection companies – part of Agenda Group)
annas@agenda-mc.co.uk
www.labanimaleurope.eu
LANGLEY MACHINE TOOLS(Tattoo equipment for vivisection labs)
24 Sherwood Street,
Barnsley, S71 1DZ UK
Tel: 01226 248446
NEWSMITH DYNAJET (Cage washing equipment and chemicals)
Fountain Works, Child Lane,
Roberttown, Liversedge,
West Yorkshire, WF15 7PH UK
Tel: 01924 405988
Fax: 01924 403304
sales@newsmiths.co.uk
Web: www.newsmiths.co.uk
MATRIX BIOLOGICALS LTD (Research services and serum samples – part of Agenda Group)
PO Box 24
Hull, HU12 8YJ UK
Tel: 08456 44 5545
Fax: 0846 44 5547
info@matrixbiologicals.co.uk
Web – www.matrixbiologicals.co.uk
TEVA UK (Client of Huntingdon Life Sciences, funding experiments on primates and rodents)
Ridings Point,
Whistler Drive,
Castleford, WF10 5HX.
Tel: 01977 628500
