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Campaign for the Abolition of Animal Slavery
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To see the pictures they don't want you to see about vivisection go to: www.animalexperimentspictures.com Will airlines
be forced to fly lab animals? March
to oppose beagle breeder Stunt demo at
Air France-KLM UK HQ Rats used in
alcohol research Empathetic rats
- Researchers at the University of Chicago sought to find out whether a rat
would release a fellow rat from an unpleasantly restrictive cage if it could.
The answer was yes. The free rat, occasionally hearing distress calls from its
compatriot, learned to open the cage and did so with greater efficiency over
time. It would release the other animal even if there wasn’t the payoff of a
reunion with it. Astonishingly, if given access to a small hoard of chocolate
chips, the free rat would usually save at least one treat for the captive. The
researchers came to the unavoidable conclusion that what they were seeing was
empathy - and apparently selfless behaviour driven by that mental state. What
psychologists term “pro-social behaviour” hasn’t been formally shown in
non-primates until now. And clever
dingoes
have been filmed performing a series of feats described by scientists as
evidence of “unbelievable intelligence”. In experiments performed by
researchers in Melbourne, one dingo was filmed moving a table to use as a
step-ladder to reach food. Another opened a gate latch with his nose to reach a
female partner. Stena stops
transport of animals to Irish labs Roku and Hex
are the world’s first chimeric monkeys. But their birth has caused an ethical
storm, with critics accusing scientists of disregarding the welfare of the
animals. Animals dumped
in lake U.S. lab
investigated for horrific abuse of test monkeys Wild
caught primates in US labs Monkey
breeding facility rejected Indian
dissection ban University of
Michigan Ends "Cruel" Cat Lab Rats starved to
death Where
Vivisectors Commit Their Crimes Novo
Nordisk stops quality testing use of animals University
of Manchester
is building a new cancer research centre. The
university said that work in new building will focus entirely on early cancer
research that does not involve patients or patient treatment and will involve no
animal testing. We’re clearly getting through at last. An
anti-vivisection doctor
(radiologist) and his entire staff now wear T-shirts at his practice
in Karlstadt with the slogans "Stop animal experiments" and
"Animal experiments? No thanks!" If only more medics had the
courage to do likewise! Marshall
Farms Company Update Universities
will be forced to reveal details
of controversial research, including testing on monkeys, after a tribunal ruling
made it harder for them to claim exemption from Freedom of Information requests.
Newcastle University had argued that responding to requests could endanger the
safety of scientists or harm its commercial interests. But a landmark ruling by
the Information Tribunal found in favour of the British Union for the Abolition
of Vivisection (BUAV) in its 3-year battle against the university, insisting it
hand over details of Home Office licences to conduct experiments on primates.
The charity claimed the lead researcher had been refused permission by the
authorities in Germany to carry out the invasive brain techniques, which
involved restraining macaques and limiting their water supply. It also said that
no human benefit had emerged from the trials. Campaigners believe the decision
could have implications for Britain's university sector and it follows calls by
Sir Paul Nurse, the President of the Royal Society, for the FOI Act to be
reviewed. Sir Paul told The Independent that the legislation was being used as
an aggressive "tool of intimidation" against researchers engaged in
high- profile studies on climate change, tobacco or using laboratory animals.
The University of Newcastle, which has already spent £230,000 opposing the
applications from BUAV, is now expected to go to the Court of Appeal, where it
will argue the licences are exempt under the Animal Scientific Procedures Act.
The tribunal concluded that a recent decline in animal rights violence meant
researchers were unlikely to become targets for extremists. It added:
"Refusal to communicate with the public carries its own risks... creating
the impression there is something to hide." It said assertions that
disclosing details of the licences might prejudice commercial interests were
"borderline". The tribunal, which agreed to make minor redactions from
the licences, concluded: "It is not in dispute that the public has a
legitimate interest in knowing what is going on by way of animal research and
the extent to which regulatory functions are being properly discharged."
Michelle Thew, chief executive of BUAV, was delighted by the ruling. "These
are controversial and invasive experiments carried out on monkeys at a public
institution. The public has a right to know what is happening to these poor
animals and why," she said. A spokesperson for Newcastle University said:
"The university carries out a small amount of scientific work on primates
where no alternative for the research exists and this is fully regulated by the
Home Office." Independent 16th
Nov A
protest took place calling for the University of Leeds
to stop carrying out "lethal experiments" on dogs. Animal Aid said 100
dogs had died since 1988 during experiments co-funded by the British Heart
Foundation (BHF). Protesters said tests were "medically irrelevant"
and have called on people to withhold donations to the charity. The university
and the BHF said animals were used only when there was no alternative. Andrew
Tyler, director of Animal Aid, said the experiments were "unproductive and
cruel". He said: "There
are many ways of doing research that all kinds of sane people would support -
productive methods of research that rely on human-relevant procedures such as
the use of human tissues and organ computer modelling." Mr
Tyler said people were being asked to withhold donations to the BHF to try to
encourage the charity to stop funding the experiments. He said: "We're not
going to cripple the organisation. What we're seeking to do is alert them to the
fact that what they are supporting is not useful to people and that there are
other ways of going about it." Fusing
liver and lung cells to create “micro-lungs” the
size of a baby’s fingernail could eventually eliminate the need for animal
testing, scientists have claimed. Research from Cardiff University’s School of
Biosciences has pioneered a process of combining cells taken from human “waste
tissue” donated by people when they die. Cell
biologist Dr Kelly BéruBé, who led the project, said the potential for the
applicability of the Metabo-Lung could be worth “billions of pounds”. The
development work now under way at Cardiff University could offer a genuine
alternative to animal testing for pharmaceutical companies developing new drugs
for pulmonary disorders such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
and cystic fibrosis. More people die in the UK from respiratory disease than
from coronary heart disease or non-respiratory cancer – and researchers claim
that there have been few treatments produced for respiratory conditions in the
past 25 years. And Dr BéruBé said testing in animals had proven to have a
“high error rate” in indicating the efficacy of drugs treating lung
conditions. “Before I took over my own lab, back in 1995 or so, we used
animals in tests and it was OK then to do that,” she said. “But by the time
the mid-2000s came around, the environment had changed and the EU started to put
laws in place saying that testing on animals would be outlawed.” She said
massive pharmaceutical companies then started looking at alternatives to animals
for testing. Sure focuses the mind! Wales
online 21st Nov US
chimp research propaganda A
group that opposes laboratory research
on animals filed a complaint with federal regulators alleging mistreatment of
monkeys at a drug development company's facility in Alice. The group, Stop
Animal Exploitation Now, cited records from the University of California in San
Francisco showing that primates shipped from the facility arrived with injuries
including muscle wasting, missing fingers and damaged ears. Covance, the global
drug development service company that owns the facility, responded with a
prepared statement saying its U.S. facilities have undergone more than 40
unannounced federal inspections in 4 years with few instances of non-compliance.
The U.S. Dept of Agriculture is the federal agency that inspects animal
facilities. "In the few instances where the USDA report cited areas where
they found concerns, Covance has taken all necessary steps to assure that the
issues identified by the USDA were thoroughly addressed and resolved," the
statement said. Michael Budkie, director of the watchdog group, said the federal
Animal Welfare Act prohibits transporting animals for commerce that are
obviously sick or injured. Of 31 animals cited in the university records, 19 had
injuries, Budkie said. One of the reports involved a monkey that showed signs of
self-injury so severe that it had to be euthanized within 24 hours of arrival at
the university laboratory. Budkie filed his complaint with the USDA. Agency
spokesman Dave Sacks had not seen the complaint but said the agency usually
sends inspectors to facilities in response to such complaints. Monkey
abuse in US lab A
man underwent a hunger strike
in protest against Government plans that could lead to animal suffering.
22-year-old Edmund Maile began his strike on Saturday to highlight
changes to animal rights laws which could come into force in 2013. He stood
outside the Senate House, King’s Parade, and only drank water. Mr Maile handed
out postcards to send to David Cameron condemning the new EU directive which
would see Britain’s laws on the treatment of animals in laboratories fall in
line with the rest of Europe. This directive could dismantle Britain’s current
laws, replacing them with lower
levels of protection. This means animals may be exposed to long-lasting
suffering, severe pain or inhumane methods of killing. Mr Maile said: “If that
is what it takes to get people’s attention then that is what I will do. “I
have been getting huge amounts of support but it will only be a success if the
legislation is not passed.” Despite suffering heckling and abuse on the city
streets, he had the support of Animal Rights Cambridge. Sue Hughes, a member of
this group, said: “People have been going to check on him on a regular basis
to support him…he wants to inform the public about what is going on.” The
RSPCA has also announced its opposition to
any weakening of British laws. Head of the RSPCA’s research animals
department, Dr Maggy Jennings, said: “Successive governments have made proud
claims that the UK has the highest standards in the world for animal research
and testing.’” She calls the possibility that this legislation could be
weakened as “unacceptable.” Changes to laws about the treatment of animals
in laboratories are particularly relevant to Cambridge, since the University
uses animals for some of its research. A Freedom of Information Act revealed
last year that 117,212 experiments involving animals were conducted in 2009 in
University laboratories. Responding to a fresh outbreak of criticism, a
University spokeswoman said: “Without animal research, which is only used when
there is no alternative, many treatments we take for granted today would not be
possible.” Varsity
18th Nov Same
old mantra from the abusers Supplier
Samedan Ltd stops dealing with HLS Billy
Bowie also pulls out UW
fined in primate death Another
2 Canadian universities
have agreed to stop using live animals in trauma-medicine training courses,
marking the end of the practice completely in Canada, according to the
doctor-led animal-rights group that has lobbied for the controversial change.
Doctors and other trauma trainees at Quebec’s University of Sherbrooke and
Sacré Coeur hospital in Montreal have begun practising on human-like,
computerized simulators instead of pigs or dogs. Blinkered
animal testers challenged A
US company that trains military medics
in field operations using live pigs is trying to bring its courses to Germany.
Animal rights group PETA believes the company is using US Army protection to
bypass German animal protection laws.
Deployment Medicine
International (DMI), which claims to be the biggest trainer of US military
forces in operational medicine, is trying to introduce courses for US soldiers
stationed in Thuringia. The company’s so-called “Trauma Training” courses
allegedly involve live pigs being given broken bones, punctured organs, and
bullet wounds under a general anaesthetic and then being operated on by
trainees. The animals are then euthanized while still asleep. PETA has long
campaigned against the practice in the US. However, Major Audrey Gboney-Leon,
spokeswoman for the US Army in Europe, told The Local this week: "We are
not currently conducting, nor do we plan to conduct, any such training in
Germany." DMI requested permission to carry out the experiments in Bavaria
last year. “But the requests were denied by state veterinary offices,” said
Christina Esch, a vet and PETA spokeswoman in Germany said. The firm is now
apparently looking for other possibilities in Thuringia, despite Germany’s
animal protection laws. DMI has already had one request denied by the Thuringian
consumer protection office, but is now appealing the decision in a regional
administrative court. DMI denies that its legal requests are being made at the
behest of the US Army. According to the company’s lawyer, Annette Steuber, DMI
trains doctors - including military medics – to carry out field operations in
conflict regions that lack medical infrastructure. Animal
testing losing favour Propofol
tested on beagles for defence case Wildlife
advocates are protesting a government plan to kill an undetermined number of
bison from Yellowstone National Park after scientists conduct a birth-control
experiment on the animals with an EPA-registered pesticide. Government officials
say the 7-year study by a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture seeks to
lessen the prevalence of brucellosis, a disease that can cause domestic cows to
abort, within the nation's last wild herd of pure-bred buffalo, or bison. Protesters
target Air France KLM investors Monarch
Air Group transported
vervet monkeys from St. Kitts to Miami on June 2nd for Primate
Products, Inc., a Florida-based company with a record of shoddy animal care and
reckless decisions that have led to animal suffering. There have been a number
of serious incidents that suggest major problems at Primate Products. In July
2009, Primate Products dumped close to 100 owl monkeys that they could not sell
at a roadside zoo in Homestead, Florida. Within a week, at least 25 of the
monkeys were dead. In 2010, disturbing photographs surfaced of monkeys inside
Primate Products suffering from horrible wounds and crude surgical mutilations.
In April 2011, Primate Products was cited by the U.S. Dept of Agriculture for
leaving monkeys who were still under anaesthesia in an enclosure without
supervision, and in the hot sun. Each year, on the islands of St. Kitts &
Nevis and Barbados, hundreds of green (vervet) monkeys are torn from their
families and forest homes and either exported directly for biomedical research
or imprisoned on farms to produce offspring to be exported to laboratories in
the U.S. and around the world. Help the primates by contacting Monarch Air Group
and suggesting that they end their involvement in the cruel primate trade.
Attaching graphic photographs to the email is a good way to help them
understand exactly what we are talking about. Tim Eames - Director of Operations
Monarch Air Group Fort Lauderdale, FL Phone : 1-954-359-0059
1-877-359-6732 tim@monarchairgroup.com,
info@monarchairgroup.com, vic@monarchairgroup.com,
richard@monarchairgroup.com Cardiologist
opposes animal research Battle
won by BUAV Sheep
die in decompression tests SPEAK rally
& march for Fran Oxford
dealers in death Animal
rights activists staged a protest in Cambridge city centre in a bid to urge shoppers
to dump cosmetic products made by Procter & Gamble (P&G) in favour of
“cruelty-free” companies. Members of Animal Rights Cambridge took part in
the 15th annual international Boycott Procter and Gamble Day by staging a
protest outside Boots in the city centre on Sat 14th May. But P&G stressed
it did not test cosmetic products on animals, and its research policy stated it
would only test on animals in “very rare cases”. And
in Brighton 2
stalls were held on opposite sides of the busy London Road shopping area.
There were many very positive comments from the passing public about the
campaign. IBC
cancel flight Global
week of action against Air France-KLM Major
new expose of Air France-KLM Dublin
Uni outed Rabbit
Farm Plans in Nottinghamshire withdrawn The
European Coalition to End Animal Experiments (ECEAE), a coalition of key animal
protection groups across the EU, has warmly welcomed a statement by the Swedish
Government opposing a delay to a ban on the marketing of animal tested
cosmetics. At an ECEAE meeting in London, ECEAE Chief Executive Michelle Thew
said, "We are delighted to receive the support of the Swedish Government.
Animal testing for cosmetic purposes is an issue of strong public interest
across the EU." Cecilia Mille,
International Affairs Manager at Animal Rights Sweden said, "We are very
happy that the Swedish Government is taking a lead with this ethical stance. Our
colleagues from other European countries tell us they expect many other
governments will be supporting Sweden's position." There has been a ban on
conducting animal tests for cosmetics in the EU since 2009. However, cosmetics
tested on animals outside the EU can still be sold. A sales ban that would
prevent this is due to come into effect in 2013, but this could now be delayed
by up to ten years. If that happens, hundreds of thousands of animals will
continue to die in cruel cosmetics tests for beauty products sold in the EU. The
Swedish government is convinced that the 2013 ban should remain as an incentive
to develop alternative methods. P&O
Ban Lab Animal Shipments Tell
DFDS to do the same The
Cockburn Veterinary Group are
a small practive in Leicestershire. They were leaked to NAVA as the company who
regularly visit Harlan's beagle units and act as their veterinary surgeons. On
the CVS website they list clients who have used their services and many of their
staff are involved in rescuing animals, fundraising for animal charities and
similar work to benefit animals. Please politely contact them and let them about
the dogs Harlan breed for vivisection. Remember that they are also involved in
saving animals' lives so remain informative: Cockburn Veterinary Group, 100
London Rd, Coalville, Leicestershire LE67 3JD Tel: 01530 836654 www.vetscoalville.co.uk
info@vetscoalville.co.uk, cockburn@vetscoalville.co.uk Rough
start for Florida conference Stephen
Fry Speaks Out Against Animal Testing California
High School Bans Dissections No
pigs for trauma training Adverse
drug reaction & animal testing BOOK
- The Costs and Benefits of Animal Experiments Victory
in row over animal testing data access Researchers at Cambridge
University
carried out more than 117,000 experiments on animals last year. Animals used
included 103,580 mice, 35 monkeys and 3 horses. It was also revealed that 2,000
out of the 117,212 experiments were classed as the highest level of severity.
Animal rights campaigners reacted with fury at the figures, released under the
Freedom of Information Act. Andrew Tyler of Animal Aid said: "These animals
are not reliable surrogates for human beings and we don't have the moral
authority to inflict such torments. These creatures aspire to something better
than to be locked in a cage - whether it's a mouse or a monkey." A
spokesman for the BUAV claimed the university is hiding the facts about its
animal testing. He said: "It receives huge amounts of public money for its
work. It is high time it came clean about the research, so that students can
make up their own minds." In 2001, campaigners released shocking details of
experiments being performed on 400 marmosets over 9 months. They alleged that
scientists sawed open monkeys' skulls and inserted toxins to simulate
Parkinson's Disease. The university refused to release precise details of tests
carried out in 2009. But it is known that animals often end up dead. A
university spokeswoman said testing could lead to improved treatment for
diseases such as cancer, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis and alzheimers. She
added: "Without animal research, which is only used when there is no
alternative, many treatments we take for granted today would not be
possible." The usual uncorroborated mantra Airline
stops transporting lab monkeys Monkeys
imported despite ban Test
tube tumours used to test drugs Call
for labelling Vet
calls for end to drugs testing on monkeys NASA
scientist forced from job Animal Defenders International
launched a campaign to secure public support to prevent the Russian
Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) from performing radiation experiments on
monkeys as part of plans to travel to Mars. To see the disturbing images of
Russian space monkey experiments: www.ad-international.org/media_centre/gallery.php?g=88&page=1
www.ad-international.org/nasa Society
for Neuroscience targeted Substance-abuse
tests on monkeys More
SHAC activists jailed SHAC
demo report 5th Nov SHAC
eco bags Stop UBC Animal Research Now
has submitted a letter calling on the University of British Columbia to
"fully disclose information about its animal research programme." The
letter, signed by 60 animal advocacy groups from across Canada, the US and
Europe, was sent to UBC President Stephen Toope on Oct 11. Signatories to the
petition included PETA, the Animal Alliance of Canada, and the Vancouver Humane
Society. "We are troubled the university has been less than forthcoming
about its research activities," read the letter. "UBC has yet to
provide public interest groups with animal research protocols and has twice
denied requests for information under provincial freedom of information
law." STOP is advocating that UBC release information about animal testing
done at the university over the past 10 years, including the guidelines UBC uses
to ensure ethical treatment of animals, and photos and videos of experiments.
Brian Vincent, spokesperson for STOP, said he is unhappy with the university's
response to their campaign. "We've got nothing but push back from UBC,"
he said. "You would think that the university would want to promote
openness and transparency and instead animal research is hidden under this veil
of secrecy." In support of National Primate
Liberation Week,
the Portland Animal Defense League hung a banner that read "OHSU:
Stop Killing Monkeys Now!" for morning commuters to see. "It's
animal abuse that's happening here, but they're calling it science," said
Stephanie Boston, an Animal Defense League volunteer. "We're in a campaign
to let people know what their tax dollars are funding." The sign - removed
by authorities shortly after it went up - is the latest in an ongoing clash
between activists and the Primate Research Centre, which houses about 4,200
primates and is one of 8 national primate research centres. In June,
demonstrators blocked the entrance to the lab, and police arrested 5 activists
for obstructing traffic. Stop Animal Exploitation Now recently ranked the lab at
Oregon Health & Science University as the nation's 6th worst
animal lab out of 44 others. The group and Animal Defense League say 259
primates at the research centre have been abused or deprived of food and clean
cages, citing an annual report that the primate centre files with the USDA. Covance
Lab in USA Closes Up Shop! Senate
votes to bar monkey breeders Ignore
the animal data - Arena shareholder Douglas Park tells the Wall
Street Journal. Investors are particularly incensed by the panel's reaction
to preclinical signs of tumours in rats injected with the therapy (lorcaserin, a weight loss drug) noting that the agency's own rules allow panellists to disregard data from animal
results based on doses 25 times stronger than what's given to
humans." Miniature
human livers
have been successfully grown in the laboratory, heralding the possibility of
customised transplant organs. US scientists have created working livers the size
of a walnut. The breakthrough could solve the shortage of organs and improve
testing of drugs. Sheffield
City Council votes to Clean Up Cruelty Cut
in lab inspectors The Chemical Industries
Association
(CIA) has reminded its members of the need to use alternatives to animal
experiments wherever possible. The BUAV has welcomed CIA's decision to write to
its members to stress the obligation under REACH to avoid testing products on
animals where an alternative is available. Chemical
Watch 10 Nov Mini-pigs
for lab use Scientist
against animal research Genetic
research scientist Dr. Jarred Bailey has been looking closely at chimpanzee
research. Bailey believes that, in spite of the primates' close similarity to
homosapiens, chimps make bad research models. "Researchers will hold the
opinion that chimpanzees are a good research model," Bailey said. "The
problem is that point of view is not supported by scientific evidence."
Bailey's background is in genetics. He has a doctorate in virus genetics and
worked for 8 years with premature human births. "I moved into this field
because I was very concerned about why people were using animal models," he
said. He has been performing chimpanzee research and said all the evidence shows
the animals to be irrelevant to human disease. "We would be better off
concentrating on other research methods," he said. When Bailey began
working with the New England Anti-Vivisection Society, one of the first studies
he conducted was a simple citation analysis, which looks at up-to-date research
and notes how many times a certain subject is cited. "If scientific
study is important, what proportion of chimpanzee papers are cited in these
medical papers?" Bailey said. "We found less than 15% was cited with
any relevance to any human medicine breakthrough." The 15% cited was
generally not critical to the research, he said. Most of the chimpanzee research
only duplicated other findings. Bailey has also done research on the
importance of chimpanzee in relation to diseases like hepatitis A, B and C, AIDS
and cancer. Chimpanzees, Bailey said, don't get the diseases humans get.
Chimpanzee use in AIDS research has decreased in magnitude, he said.
"You can infect them with HIV, but they don't get AIDS from it."
Bailey said his research found 85 different AIDS vaccines that had been tested
in primates, mostly chimpanzees. All 85 worked in chimps, curing them or having
therapeutic effects. In 200 human trials, not one of those vaccines worked. He
also said the evidence is not good that chimps are a good model for hepatitis.
"Chimps don't actually get hepatitis, you can inject them, but they don't
get the symptoms we do. They might have been useful as bioreactors to grow the
virus to use for the research." The hepatitis B vaccine was developed 25 to
30 years ago, Bailey said. Research methods have improved by leaps and bounds
since then. "We have techniques we never even dreamed of," he said.
"Even if we accept that they were useful so long ago, we just don't need to
use them anymore, whether they are a good model or not." Bailey said he has
also been exhaustively looking at hepatitis C and has written 2 papers that are
coming out in the next several months. "They will show the claims about
hepatitis C are false and dishonest," he said. "We found chimpanzees
aren't at the basis of the findings. Clinical studies of people and societies
have all provided the more powerful data about hepatitis C." Part of
Bailey's study looked at how heavily chimps were used in hepatitis C research
and found the numbers have decreased. "You would think if they were a good
model, chimpanzee use would increase," he said. "The use of
alternatives has increased by 80 fold and use of chimps dropped
dramatically." Bailey also worked on a paper on chimpanzees and cancer
research because cancer is one of the biggest killers of humans. They found
chimpanzees are not used very much at all. "We found that chimps had barely
been used in cancer research at all," he said. Incidents of chimps having
cancer are extremely rare, he said, and the tumours they did find in chimps are
not tumours humans get. "If chimpanzees were a good model, why are they
using them only in the United States?" Bailey asked. "If the promise
was there, they would be used all around the world." Bailey said looking
from a human perspective, researchers can do a better job at using other
methods. "It is patently obvious chimpanzee research is not the effective
way to do this," he said. "How much negative data do you need that
chimpanzee research doesn't work and if it doesn't work, how can it be
considered essential?" Dr. Theodora Capaldo is director of the New England
Anti-Vivisection Society. She said the organisation hired Bailey because of his
scientific background. She said more people are paying attention to the issue
because chimpanzees are much like humans and the American people are fascinated
with the question. She is a clinical psychologist and has observed chimpanzees
in laboratory environments. "What I saw is no different than working with
human trauma survivors abuse, war and sexual abuse," she said.
"Chimpanzees under stress show the same psychological symptoms as humans.
They disassociate, are self-abusive and are hyper-vigilant. They, too, suffer
from complex post traumatic stress syndrome and identity confusion. Trauma is no
different than if it happens to a human child." She said the American
public reluctantly endorses chimpanzee research because they are told it is of
benefit to humans. "But it's not only unnecessary, it's useless," she
said. "They are not helping my uncle with Alzheimer's or my father with
cancer." Wickham
labs demo SHAC
activists for sentencing Fortess
seek $440 million loan Non-animal
research experts at Scottish Parliament The
EU has agreed on new rules aimed at reducing the number of animals used
in lab experiments and tightening controls over such procedures. Euro MPs backed
the new EU directive after long negotiations and EU member states have 2 years
to make it law. Labs will have to get approval from national authorities for
animal tests and if recognised alternatives exist then they must be used, the
rules say. Animal welfare groups say the directive still does not go far enough.
Those in favour of tighter controls on vivisection have ended up being
disappointed, as some strongly protective measures recommended by the European
Commission were diluted by MEPs during the negotiations. Accusations were made
that the compromises were a consequence of serious lobbying by interest groups
such as the pharmaceutical industry and animal suppliers.
The UK-based anti-vivisection group BUAV called it "a missed
opportunity". "The dropped proposals include strong restrictions on
the use of non-human primates, strong restrictions on re-using individual
animals, and a clear ban on experiments which involve severe and prolonged
suffering," it said. But BUAV said it was "pleased, however, that the
Commission has clarified that non-animal alternatives have to be used wherever
they are scientifically suitable". The new directive, approved by the
European Parliament, replaces EU rules on animal testing that dated back to
1986. The new animal welfare standards will have to be embraced by all EU member
states. The new member states - mainly in Central and Eastern Europe - that
joined the EU in 2004 and 2007, will have to embrace the new animal welfare
standards. The legislation imposes a general ban on the use of great apes, such
as chimpanzees and gorillas, in scientific tests. But other primates such as
macaques can still be used – a point on which the Commission was overruled by
MEPs. The directive also sets out categories of pain, ranging from
"mild" to "severe" - an innovation designed to prevent
repeated suffering. The re-use of animals will be allowed after tests involving
"moderate" pain - though the Commission had proposed re-use only after
tests classed as "up to mild" pain. MEPs argued that re-use of animals
helped reduce the total number of animals used. They were also concerned that
Europe should not fall behind in research on chronic human ailments such as
Alzheimer's. According to EU data, about 12m animals are used in EU countries'
lab experiments each year. The directive obliges national authorities to carry
out regular inspections of labs that use animals - and some of the visits must
be unannounced. The Commission will oversee these checks. The animal protection
group Humane Society International said the new directive would still not
prevent "severe suffering" in certain types of animal testing. But it
voiced hope that other countries, including the US, would now "follow
Europe's lead so that standards are improved globally". The
UK’s Green Euro-MPs criticised
the European Parliament for voting against stronger provisions to protect
animals used in experiments, as part of ongoing negotiations to update EU law on
the practice. The Greens in the Euro-Parliament had put forward 3 amendments: to
drop the restriction on national governments to introduce higher animal welfare
standards than those required under EU law; to restore Parliament's original
demand that an alternative to animals must be used when available (subject to
individual Member State laws); and to strengthen restrictions on the use of non
human primates. The Green amendments were all defeated, as were the Group’s
calls for the whole report to be referred back for further development.
Therefore the report now becomes the Parliament's official position. Keith
Taylor, Green MEP for the South East, expressed his disappointment at
Parliament’s failure to provide adequate protection for the millions of
animals being experimented on in EU labs every year. He said: "It’s clear
that this proposed legislation is not yet fully developed. Greens have long
lobbied for animal protection to be enhanced and have been waiting many years
for the update of this Directive. Sadly, today’s vote represents a missed
opportunity for guaranteeing animal welfare. "It’s true that there are
some improvements in the compromise text, particularly on inspections, on the
new authorisation process for experiments, and a proper classification system.
“But there are also concerns among animal welfare NGOs that the proposed
legislation will allow for experiments on living animals for didactic purposes,
experiments on stray dogs and cats – and for the permission of experiments
without anaesthesia and/or painkillers. “This is not about obstructing medical
developments into human health; it is about wanting to minimise the unnecessary
use of animals in experiments. A civilized society cannot remain indifferent to
cruelty. Jean Lambert, London’s Green Euro-MP, said: “The EU has an
opportunity to lead the world in progressive animal research legislation,
recognising the latest developments in viable non-animal alternatives. The
Greens will call for further deliberations until we can secure genuine
improvements in animal welfare and protection.” Former
Broxtowe MP Nick Palmer has
landed a role at the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection He has been
appointed as the new director of international and corporate affairs, a new role
that will help the organisation develop its international work and help build on
its campaign to persuade companies to stop animal testing. Dr Palmer was Labour
MP for Broxtowe from 1997 until 2010 and has a long history in working on animal
welfare related issues. BUAV has previously worked with him in his role as
vice-chair of the All-Party Animal Welfare Group. Dr Palmer has also undertaken
the role of Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Animal Welfare Minister and
chair of the Parliamentary group for the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in
Medical Experiments. Dr Palmer said: "This is a dream job for me. I hope to
promote and build on BUAV's record of constructive dialogue." Animal testing gives false hope Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease. At least, that’s what has been accepted
for years – based on the best of attempts to recreate MS in animals. The
EAE mouse model has some of the same symptoms, and has guided MS research or
years. New research indicates that it’s an illness of the veins. A
constriction on the jugular vein causes a build up of blood in the brain and the
terrible condition. Already a simple procedure has been used on MS
patients with excellent results. Although the findings are just emerging, this
is showing itself to be a clear and damning case in which desperation to use an
animal model has led to false theories and misdirected research which has denied
research into the real condition for a generation of patients.
Sent
by VIN Gateway
to Hell has
been relaunched as part of the National Anti-Vivisection Alliance (NAVA) in the
UK. The majority of animal used in UK laboratories are sourced from outside the
country, ranging from xenopus to beagles, primates and even horses. This is due
to the 2 main breeders, Harlan and Charles River, not having enough breeding
stock to be able to supply the needs of the vivisection establishments
nationwide. Other factors include the copyright placed on genetic strains of
animals and the inability to breed primates in the laboratory environment,
meaning many have to be captured in the wild or imported from holding centres
such as Mazor Farm in Israel. The simple fact is that the UK vivisection
industry is reliant upon these imports of animals to be able to continue.
Without them, laboratories would struggle to conduct experiments and the 2 major
breeders would not be able to make sufficient revenue to continue without their
exports to foreign clients. We have already had a number of victories since the
campaign relaunch. El Al (Israel's
flagship carrier) has vowed never to fly primates, nor any other animal destined
for vivisection, following a co-ordinated international campaign. As the only
airline willing to fly monkeys into or out of Israel, this will have a massive
global impact. Not only can companies such as BioCulture and Noveprim not
transport primates from Mauritius to Israel, as they have regularly done for
decades, but the Mazor Farm (BCF Israel) may be forced to close down as they
have now lost the ability to supply 90% of their clients, consisting of UK, US,
German and Belgian laboratories. Manchester
Airport - The G2H campaign has seen a mass amount of disruption in the
import network of primates and laboratory animals into the UK. We know for a
fact that primate imports through Manchester International Airport make up over
75% of the UK's primate supply, with these monkeys being sent to HLS, Covance,
Charles River, AstraZeneca and others. It is also the main gateway into the
country for beagle dogs, coming from Marshall Farms breeding kennels in New York
and Italy. However, ZorEx and 2 other airlines pulled out of the import network
following our discovery about their involvement in the monkey flights. Airbase
Flight Support, who was acting as ground handling agents for beagles and monkeys
coming through Manchester, also issued a statement never to be involved again.
The UK's largest airport handler, Servisair, have also pulled now and issued a
policy. The potential to replace companies who cease involvement has also been
cut-off with over half of those offering relevant services within the airport
refuse to be involved in the lab animal trade. Please also take part in our
email action alert, "Shut Down the Manchester Monkey Flights" For more
information and to follow the Gateway to Hell campaign, please visit: www.antivivisection.info/g2h We
have a substantial amount of information about these flights into
Manchester from Impex organising them and delivering the primates to the labs in
unmarked vans. Documentation has been falsified, the cost of over £5,000 per
flight, quarantine centres used, and that police and private security escorts
are given to each shipment. Now is the time to stand up against this sickening
trade and call for an end. Listed below are the 3 airlines we know have been
flying primates over the past fortnight into Manchester, as well as 2 who were
approached by Impex for future use and have not ruled out transporting animals
for labs. Please contact them to voice your disgust: AERONOVA:
Avda. dels Arcs, 10, 46940 Manises, Valencia, Spain Tel: +34 96 152 11 36 / 902
105 742 Tel (24hr) + 34 67023022 Fax: +34 96 152 68 87 info-cargo@aeronova.com, info@aeronova.com,
info-training@aeronova.com, mserusi@aeonova.com,
jmpenandes@aeonova.com, mjimenez@aeronova.com,
ralbarrilla@aeronova.com, ipoos@aeronova.com,
sspina@aeronova.com,
pablolago@pablolago.com
Netherlands base: The Hague Airport, Rotterdam Airportplein 60 3045 AP
Rotterdam T: +31(0)10 - 446 34 44 info@rotterdam-airport.nl
UK base: Coventry Airport, Coventry Airport South, Siskin Parkway W.
Coventry CV3 4PB Tel: 024 7630 8600 info@coventryairport.co.uk Grupo
Suner (Majority Shareholder in Aeronova) Avda. de Los Deportes, 21, Edificio
Ma Carmen Suner info@gruposuner.com
AEROCORP: Gif sur Yvette,
Technoparc de Gif, 2 route de la Noue, FR-91190 Gif sur Yvette, France Tel: +33
180 856 658 // +33 (0)1 80.86.61.80 Mobile : +33 680 173 908 Fax: +33 (0)1
80.85.58.42 info@aerocorp.aero,
p.duran@aerocorp.fr,
c.debont@aerocorp.fr,
b.gilles@aerocorp.aero, b.gilles@aerocorp.fr
BUSINESS WINGS: Flughafen, 34379 Calden, Germany Tel (24hr): +49 (0)5674 92150
Fax +49 (0)5674 9215-29 info@businesswings.de AIR
MANA: Aéroport Dijon Bourgogne, BP26 21601 Longvic
Cedex, France Tel (24 hr): 03 80 666 232 devis@airmana.com,
ops@airmana.com,
dov@airmana.com,
rde@airmana.com,
jm.guillon@airmana.com, jp.peuchot@airmana.com
BIN AIR: Maria Probst-Str.22, 80939 München
Germany Tel (24 Hr): +49 (0) 171 322 66 22 Fax: +49 (0) 2203-6995411 info@binair.eu A
new report "Mauritius: The trade in primates for research" released
to The Associated Press on Sept. 21, 2010 says that wild, long-tailed monkeys
sustain broken limbs and other injuries when trappers catch the primates and
transfer them to breeding farms on Mauritius. Mauritius has 4 major breeding
farms and a 5th farm is to be opened soon, evidence that the trade is
expanding, said the report by the British Union for the Abolition of
Vivisection. Photos in the report
showed handlers swinging monkeys by the tail and monkeys confined to small,
rusty metal cages. Their brutal
capture from the wild and forced captivity in Mauritius is morally
unacceptable," said the BUAV's Sarah Kite. "We call on the government
of Mauritius to put an end to this brutal trade and for the USA, EU and Israel
to ban primate imports and stop perpetuating this appalling cruelty." The
Associated Press contacted several government offices in Mauritius to seek
comment on the report. When AP asked a question of an official in the Ministry
of Agro Industry and Fisheries, which oversees wildlife, the official hung up.
Another official said government employees are not permitted to talk to
journalists. Last year 2,257 monkeys were imported into Britain from
Mauritius. Only the US bought more. And during 2008/9 more than 5,000 live tests
were carried out on monkeys – a rise of 16%. Tests include horrific
experiments where the animals are pumped with massive amounts of drugs to see
how long they can survive. 75% of the monkeys are used for toxicology tests on
new drugs. The remainder are used in studies for conditions such as
Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s and Aids. Animal rights charities are now
calling on the Government to end the cruel trade. BUAV’s director of
special projects Sarah Kite said: “By allowing the importation of monkeys from
Mauritius, the UK is fuelling the cruelty inflicted on thousands of animals.
“This trade is morally unacceptable. We call on the Government to ban the importing
of these primates and stop perpetuating this appalling cruelty.” For more
information, go to www.stopthebabytrade.org
Rick Gervais is backing the BUAV campaign to stop the cruel trade in baby
monkeys. Brow
Well Fisheries A
maximum security laboratory next to St Pancras station will
(allegedly) be at the front line of Britain's fight against the next
flu pandemic (another false scare?).
The £600m “super lab” will be one of the largest in Europe and employ 1,250
scientists, many of whom will work in a bunker to prevent the spread of airborne
disease. The UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation, the body behind the
Somers Town building, claims the site will be totally secure with no risk of
virus particles escaping into nearby homes. But campaigners are angry that no
housing is planned for the site, and are concerned the huge building could
become a terrorist target and the focal point for protests against animal
testing. The glass, brick and metal lab will be secured to “biosafety level
3+”, that is capable of containing bacteria including malaria and
tuberculosis. Along with cancer, they will be some of the many deadly diseases
studied at the “global centre of research excellence”. John Cooper, chief
operating officer and interim chief executive of UKCMRI, said: “UKCMRI is
planning to study different strains of flu, including H5N1 (bird) flu. “Some
of these viruses need to be studied in special, secure laboratories. The
founders' scientists and technicians are extremely experienced in ensuring these
viruses are studied safely.” UKCMRI is a conglomerate of the Medical Research
Council, University College London, Cancer Research UK and The Wellcome Trust.
About one third of the building, which is up to 154 ft high in places, will be
underground. A pressure group called Stop Camden Lab has been formed to oppose
the plans, which were formally lodged last week. Councillor Roger Robinson,
Labour representative for St Pancras and Somers Town, said: “Why they want to
put a lab in the middle of a built-up area is beyond my comprehension.” The
building will replace the ageing Medical Research Council laboratory in Mill
Hill, which led Britain's bird and swine flu research. Lab closes after exposé Vet
college stops animal use Researcher
shows no respect The
chimpanzees of the Alamogordo Primate Facility in New Mexico are being called back to
duty. The 186 chimps, already grizzled veterans of medical research, will be
pulled from an unofficial retirement and sent back into the lab by the end of
2011, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced. But the decision has
brought to a head a simmering debate about the use of chimpanzees for medical
research in the USA - a practice finally banned by the EU. After a visit to
Alamogordo on 21 Sept, New Mexico governor Bill Richardson renewed a vow to
fight the NIH plan, which would send the chimps to the S.W. National Primate
Research Centre in San Antonio, Texas. Richardson has said that he will push
Congress to legislate that the chimps' present home, at which about 40 people
are employed, be converted into an official sanctuary managed by non-profit
agencies, or be run by nearby universities for non-invasive behavioural
research. Seinfeld
Writer Supports Animal-Friendly Research In
a landmark action the
municipality of Guayama, Puerto Rica, has enacted a new law banning the import,
export, breeding, and use of monkeys in experiments within its boundaries. This
means that Guayama—and its mayor, Glorimari Jaime Rodríguez—have dealt an
apparently fatal blow to Bioculture Puerto Rico, Inc.'s much-criticized plan to
capture more than 4,000 monkeys from Mauritius, cruelly confine them to cages in
Guayama, and then sell their offspring to foreign laboratories for use in
painful and deadly experiments. Puerto Rico's Senate is also set to vote on a
resolution sponsored by Sen. Melinda Romero Donnelly, which, if approved, would
urge U.S. agencies to "deny Bioculture any and all permit requests to
import monkeys into Puerto Rico." Nearly
90,000 lab mice are used each year in
the EU just to test batches of BoTox, according to the journal Nature. That
number has increased from 33,000 mice in 2005. The EC report singled out BoTox
testing as a major reason that animal experimentation persists at sustained
levels in the EU despite being reduced in many other fields. Artery-on-a-Chip
Studies Heart Disease Scientists
from Canada have developed a microfluidic platform on which fragile blood
vessels can be fixed, allowing the factors that promote and sustain
cardiovascular diseases to be studied. Microvascular structure and function are
currently studied using either an isometric approach, where small arteries are
mounted on 2 wires, or an isobaric method, where arteries are drained and filled
using glass micropipettes. Both of these procedures require manually skilled
personnel and are not scalable - key factors which have limited the number of
laboratories carrying out essential microvascular research. However, Axel Günther
and colleagues at the University of Toronto have overcome several of these
limitations by developing a microfluidic platform to mount arteries on, which is
scalable, inexpensive and has potential for automation and standardisation. The
device could be used to routinely screen drug candidates on viable arteries,
potentially speeding up the drug development process and reducing the need for
animal experimentation. New
non-animal research grants Dr
Hadwen Trust for Humane Research has just given out new non-animal research
grants. They are: Epilepsy research
at Newcastle University; Bone
Disease at Cardiff University; Brain Cell Imaging at Birmingham University;
Nanotoxicity Testing at Nottingham University; Abdominal Pain Studies at Barts
& Queen Mary’s, University of London.
Current projects include research into breast cancer, multiple sclerosis,
cystic fibrosis, skin cancer and brain infections. Brain
waves tracked in conscious cats 4
animal rights groups have joined forces to demand that the Health Ministry halt
a medical experiment that involves forcing cats to remain awake in order to
monitor their brain function. The organisations said the cats in the study at
Ben Gurion in Negev are confined in
small enclosures and force-fed food containing substances to keep them awake
during testing. Research in Israel into feline brain function is generally
conducted while the cats are anaesthetised. They are often killed when the
experiments are completed. The study in question, led by Dr. Opher Donchin of
the university's Dept of Biomedical Engineering, investigates neural activity in
Purkinje cells in the animals' cerebellar cortex. Researchers ultimately plan to
study at least 7 cats. Last month a representative for animal rights groups on
the ministry's National Council for Experimentation on Animal Subjects, asked
council chairman Ehud Ziv to look into complaints that the cats were subjected
to unnecessary discomfort during testing. A veterinarian and a scientific
consultant who were sent by Ziv to Donchin's laboratory wrote in their report
that the experiment complied with the ministry's animal testing regulations. In
response, animal rights activists asked Ziv for permission to visit the lab and
see the tests on the cats for themselves. When their request was rejected, they
decided to take up the matter with the university directly. A further letter was
sent to Ziv and to the university’s president demanding an immediate halt to
the study. "This research is being conducted on conscious felines,
subjecting them to prolonged, extreme suffering," said the groups'
attorney. He said the experiment does not comply with the 1994 Animal Welfare
Law. The letter said the suffering caused to the cats far outweighed the study's
potential "negligible scientific benefit" and that nothing could
justify subjecting such sentient beings to prolonged, harmful tests, confinement
and surgery for the purpose of dubious scientific gain. The activists said they
are considering legal action against the study's organisers. Director of the
group Behind Closed Doors comments. "A cat can't be expected to sit in
confinement for over an hour without moving. It breaks the animal physically and
emotionally, leading to a state of powerlessness. In such a state the cat is
likely to fall asleep, and inserting food into its mouth to keep it awake is
both cruel and disproportionate. We ask for proportionality to be considered
before approving any experiment in Military
experiments prohibited The
U.S. Army in Bill
to end unnecessary experiments on chimps A
bill in the Replacement
for Draize After
more than a decade of scientific research and lobbying by animal protection
groups, the Organisation for economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has
approved a new, non animal testing guideline for skin irritation. The guideline
adopted is now available for use by companies and governments worldwide. The
OECD guideline allows for the use of 3 artificial human skin models engineered
by SkinEthic in EC weakens cosmetic animal testing ban The
ECEAE (European Coalition to End Animal Experiments) has accused the European
Commission (EC) of acting unlawfully by attempting to weaken legislation
introduced to bring an end to the controversial testing and marketing of animal
tested cosmetics within the EU. In 2003, following many years of campaigning led
by ECEAE, the EU introduced a number of animal test bans for cosmetics under the
7th amendment to the Cosmetics Directive. This was a huge step
forward for animal welfare in the EU and received widespread political and
public support. The Cosmetics Directive included an unqualified ban on animal
testing for cosmetics in the EU which came into force in March 2009. It also
included a marketing ban on the sale and import into the EU of cosmetics tested
on animals outside the EU. This too came into force in March 2009 although an
exception was agreed for 3 tests - repeated-dose, toxicokinetics and
reproductive toxicity. For these tests, the deadline was initially set at March
2013, although this can be extended even further if these tests do not meet
non-animal alternative availability criteria. In the past few months, the EC has
organised a series of working groups to prepare a report on the status of the
availability of non-animal alternatives methods. This report forms the basis for
the public consultation launched on the 23rd July. However, the EC
appears to be attempting to weaken the Directive by having inexplicably included
2 additional animal tests - skin sensitisation and carcinogenicity tests –
which were not included in the marketing ban exception and which now have to
meet the non-animal alternative before the marketing ban is implemented. The
relevant working group’s findings suggest that replacement methods will not be
available until 2017-2019 for skin-sensitisation; for carcinogenicity the
working group is unable to say when they will be available. The Cosmetics
Directive is, however, clear and the ECEAE has received strong legal advice. For
skin sensitisation and carcinogenicity, both the testing and import bans are
unqualified and came into effect in March 2009, with no facility to extend that
deadline. Whether particular scientists believe there are suitable alternatives
is irrelevant. As far as repeated-dose, toxicokinetics and reproductive toxicity
are concerned, the ECEAE believes that the assessments of the working groups are
scientifically ultra conservative and, lack understanding of the creative
potential of non-animal methods. The European public wants a clear, immovable
line drawn in the sand with regard to animal-tested cosmetics. The ECEAE will be
scrutinising the reports very closely. ECEAE Chief Executive, Michelle Thew
states: “This move will be extremely disappointing to citizens across the EU
who support this ban. The EC appears to be extending the goal post by including
additional animal tests that need to pass the non-animal alternatives test. The
ECEAE is concerned about this unlawful attempt to weaken the Cosmetics
Directive. The marketing bans for skin sensitisation and carcinogenicity tests
were not conditional on non-animal alternatives being available. This was a
directive based primarily on ethics, not science.” Budget
cuts and non-animal research With
over £60billion of budget savings to find, more science spending cuts are
looming and Britain's research base is certain to take a hit. Accessing funds to
develop animal-free research methods has always been a challenge. Dedicated
alternatives funders are scarce, high-impact journals have an illogical
prejudice against research without animal data, and without impressive
publications, achieving more mainstream funding is hard. It's a frustrating
catch-22 for the scientists. "Perversely, research that doesn't use animals
is perceived as high risk by funders," explains Debbie Holliday, of the
Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine. "In my work on breast cancer, if I
made funding applications based on the mouse model, it would be more likely to
get funded despite the well-known limitations of that approach, because it's the
established method." Her ground-breaking work advancing the world's first
3-dimensional multi-cellular test-tube model of human breast cancer has been
much more of a funding challenge. Overcoming those challenges has been
worth it. Dr Holliday's model offers a more physiologically relevant approach to
breast cancer research than experimenting on mice, and it's captured the
interest of oncology researchers internationally who are interested in its
potential wider application. As well as medical benefits, it could also replace
painful tumour experiments that use 400 mice at a time. Unfortunately, decades
of underfunding means replacement science is still playing catch-up. For years
the government allocated a derisory £280,000 annually to the 3Rs (replacement,
reduction, refinement of animal experiments), barely enough to fund a single
project. The National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs) now has a more respectable £4.5m
budget (2009) - but for how much longer? Spending cuts would hit precisely when
alternatives are starting to make a real impact. Dr Holliday is concerned that
tightening the squeeze on already scare funding could encourage scientists to
abandon non-animal work, research choices becoming increasingly dictated by
where the funds are rather than the best scientific options. "There's a lot
of talk about the potential loss of gifted scientists from non-animal
alternatives, it's a real issue," she told me. This is exacerbated by the
fact that many scientists rely on charities, and they too are slashing budgets.
Stifling innovation is a potential outcome. Cell biologist Kelly BeruBe at
Cardiff University made headlines last year with her Microlung technology -
lung cells grown on plastic spheres that mimic real human lung function. It's a
high-tech replacement for low-tech 1930s-era chemical inhalation tests in rats.
But Kelly's hit a funding wall, so work to make Microlung fully operational by
transitioning from 2-D to 3-D has stalled. Using rats, Kelly could access more
regular funding, even though extrapolating rat data to humans is fraught with
difficulties. "Their lungs are so different morphologically and
physiologically, but I am basically stuck between a rat and a hard place!" The
commercial potential for Microlung is exciting. With every pharmaceutical and
chemical company worldwide conducting toxicity studies, Microlung could be a
profitable British export. For companies, switching from animals makes good
business sense. Just a half inch of human tissue can create 400 Microlungs,
costing approximately £1,000 per test. Compare that to a standard 2-year animal
study consuming 800 rodents and costing £2.6m. Lower R&D costs, reduced
candidate failure rates and accelerated time to market mean increased profits
and quicker ROI. New EU legislation emphasising replacement of animal tests for
chemicals and cosmetics increases the incentive to act. The USA is also working
to bring chemical testing into the 21st century using
state-of-the-art human cell tests, computer science and robotics. The future of
life sciences research is bright - and animal-free - and Britain could be
leading the technology drive. Despite budget constraints, now is not the
time to cut alternatives funding. Instead, we need more intelligent and
data-driven funding strategies that resist shoring up research where there is
scant scientific justification. That means identifying poor performing animal
research that isn't delivering and investing instead in using and developing
more advanced human-relevant solutions where the scientific and societal
benefits could be considerable. Global demand for alternatives is only going to
increase, so now is the time to exploit what could be a real growth area for UK
Plc. That means ensuring our research is future-proof, inspiring the next
generation of innovators, and attracting the brightest minds. Wendy Higgins
Campaign Specialist at the Humane
Society International A
small animal testing laboratory is
to be built at Daisy Hill, East Riding of Yorkshire, which is set to be operated
jointly by Agenda Resource Management and BOCM Pauls. Farm animals will be used
in invasive experiments related to intensive farming, agriculture, nutrition and
related fields. Agenda RM claim they are expanding into the field of Research
& Development, already having a department which conducts facilites
management of vivisection labs nationwide. The centre will no doubt be a smaller
version of Scotland's Roslin Institute and cannot be allowed to be built. BOCM
Pauls own the land on which the new laboratory is planned to be built, which
Agenda already rent for their 'top secret' offices. Despite a false company
being set up to guard the proposal, named Pepper PDS (reg to P.O. Box 289,
Beverley, HU17 6EW), animal rights activists and local papers have found out.
Agenda and BOCM have not mentioned to East Riding Council (Planning ref
10/02632/STPLF) that animals will be used. Take action here: www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/09/458031.html Great
Ape Protection Act Senators
Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) have
introduced the Great Ape Protection Act (S.3694) in the U.S. Senate, lending
bipartisan support to end the use of great apes in invasive research. NEAVS/Project
R&R Science Director Dr. Jarrod Bailey recently met with Senator
Cantwell and several other legislators, explaining how ending chimpanzee
research would have no negative impact on human health. Dr. Bailey provided the
Congress members with abstracts of NEAVS/Project
R&R’s scientific papers, along with a list of over 700 scientists
who have pledged their support for ending the use of chimpanzees in invasive
research, demonstrating impressive scientific support for this legislation.
To add your signature of support go to: http://www.releasechimps.org/take-action/sign-the-petition/
US
planners are considering whether the need for more local jobs means they should
relax a ban on animal testing laboratories. Currently, Help
save vunerable animals The
recently published annual UK Government statistics have revealed over 3.5m
animals were ‘sacrificed’ in 2009. However, the new Coalition Government
offers a glimpse of hope for animals in laboratories with its pledge to 'work to
reduce the number of animal experiments'. Uncaged are currently lobbying the
Government. Please back this up by lobbying your MP to sign Early Day Motion 435
which calls on the Government to honour this historic commitment. http://www.vote4animals.org.uk/search.htm
Uncaged Campaigns University
violates Animal Welfare Act According
to the annual report filed with the USDA by the University of Kansas Medical
Centre, this facility experiments on and/or holds captive about 150 primates a
year, a relatively small amount. The report which contains this statistic is a
bland one page document which belies the cruel reality that it represents. A
cross section of the lives of these animals is represented by a stack of
documents which is just over a foot tall. The existence of these highly
intelligent animals has been reduced to so much paper and ink. Their identities
represented only by numbers, their passing marked only by the word “euthanised.”
The University of Kansas Medical Centre has become known for violating
the Animal Welfare Act. In fact, recent inspections for the period from Sep 2007
to June of 2009 catalogue 58 pages of violations, many of which involve primates
and their deaths. The USDA inspectors who wrote these documents uncovered
heinous acts of cruelty which prolonged the pain these animals endured. One
monkey was allowed to deteriorate so severely that his/her weight dropped by
26.8%. Another primate, whose skull
had been opened to have a recording chamber put into place, did not receive
anything close to adequate treatment TPC 4 Aug Drug
companies conning public Drug
companies have been accused of conning the public by hyping up patented
medicines with little new to offer while downplaying their side-effects. A study
concluded that up to 85% of new drugs offered few if any new benefits while
having the potential to cause serious harm due to toxicity or misuse. The author
of the research, Donald Light, professor of comparative health policy at the
University of Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey, said: "Sometimes drug
companies hide or downplay information about serious side-effects of new drugs
and overstate the drugs' benefits. Then, they spend 2 to 3 times more on
marketing than on research to persuade doctors to prescribe these new drugs.
Doctors may get misleading information and then misinform patients about the
risks of a new drug." Professor Light presented his paper, entitled
"Pharmaceuticals: A Two-Tier Market for Producing 'Lemons' and Serious
Harm", at the American Sociological Association's annual meeting in
Atlanta, Georgia. He accused companies of conducting a "swamp the
regulator" policy – bombarding the bodies that award drug licences with
large numbers of "incomplete, partial, sub-standard clinical trials".
One study of 111 final applications for approval found that 42% were missing
data from adequately randomised trials, 40% were supported by flawed testing of
dosages, 39% lacked evidence of clinical efficacy, and 49% raised concerns about
serious adverse side-effects, he said. In a statement, the Association of the
British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) said: "Professor Light is long on
accusation and woefully short on hard evidence. There is now much greater
transparency in clinical trial results. The UK pharmaceutical industry also
adheres to a strict code of practice on the sales and marketing of its products.
"The patient information leaflet provided in every pack with a medicine
details the side effects which have been reported in clinical trials and
reviewed by the regulator." Monkeys
from China for HLS SHAC
has received a number of leaked documents detailing the purchase of hundreds of
monkeys from China by Huntingdon Life Sciences between 2006-2008. The documents
reveal, once again, how HLS, Primate Products, Inc and its customers are
directly responsible for the horrible suffering of monkeys trapped for the
international primate slave trade. The documents include contracts, invoices,
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service import permits, animal health certificates
issued by the People's Republic of China, shipping routes, contact sheets, and
miscellaneous e-mails (such as correspondence about a Dec 2007 trip to Florida
by 3 HLS employees to tour Primate Products, Inc.'s quarantine facility and
breeding farm). Without disgusting companies like Primate Products, Inc. who are
an important link in the chain of animal slavery and animal abuse. 10,000s of
wild caught or 'cage bred' primates would not be used as mere experimental tools
for the vivisection industry. We call on every compassionate person to show
their anger and disgust at Primate Products, Inc. for their continued
involvement in the primate slave trade. Please take the time to contact
Primate Products, Inc about their dealings with HLS: Primate Products, Inc. PTLC
& Equipment Div (HQ). PO Box 1588 Immokalee, FL 34143 USA. Tel: 001
239-867-2020 Fax: 001 239-867-2030 ptlcequip@primateproducts.com
Primate Products, Inc. Live Animal Division, 7780 NW 53rd
Street Miami, FL 33166 USA. Tel: 001 305-471-9557 Fax: 001 305-471-8983 lad@primateproducts.com
Primate Products, Inc. PO Box 620415 Woodside, CA 94062 USA. Tel: 001
650-529-0419. PPI Behaviourist Stefanie Haba Nelsen 001 239 867-2020 ext. 2242
(Office) 001 239 821-9006 (Cell) Donald A. Bradford, President: DonBradford@primateproducts.com
John P. Resuta, Jr., Operations Manager: JohnResuta@primateproducts.com
Eileen Sylvester, Office Administrator: EileenSylvester@primateproducts.com
Kathleen Turner, DVM: KathleenTurner@primateproducts.com
Stefanie Haba Nelsen, PPI Behaviorist: stefanienelsen@primateproducts.com
Josh Bradford: Joshbradford@primateproducts.com
Mike Disbrow: Mikedisbrow@primateproducts.com
Jim Nazareno: jimnazareno@primateproducts.com
Jerome Johnson: Jeromejohnson@primateproducts.com
Kathryn Litton: KathrynLitton@primateproducts.com
Sherri Schmidt: sherrischmidt@primateproducts.com
Donna Steiner: Donnasteiner@primateproducts.com
Ed Marshburn: edmarshburn@primateproducts.com
Todd Sylvester: Toddsylvester@primateproducts.com
Renate Lemke: Renatelemke@primateproducts.com
Rachelle Ford: rachelleford@primateproducts.com
Michele Surelli: michelemisurelli@primateproducts.com
Mary Muhlhauser: Marymuhlhauser@primateproducts.com Animal
Welfare Advisory Committee disbanded The
BUAV has condemned the announcement by Mr Peter Luff, the Minister for Defence
Equipment Support & Technology, that the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee,
has been immediately dissolved. The committee was set up to provide independent
scientific advice on the care and welfare of animals used in military research
at the top secret Porton Down military laboratory in Wiltshire. Recent animal
tests at Porton Down uncovered by the BUAV have caused a public outcry, in
particular horrific experiments in which live pigs were blown up with explosives
and subjected to massive mutilation and injury. In 2009, it was reported that
over 8,000 animals were used in tests by the MoD, including mice, non-human
primates and pigs. Animals have been largely used in research into preventing
and treating diseases used as weapons. Many of these experiments involved
substantial suffering and resulted in the death of the animals. In some tests,
there were no reports of treatment or pain relief given. Examples of other
animal tests include: Research into inhalational tularaemia, a disease caused by
a bacterium used as a biological weapon, 10 monkeys were exposed to various
doses of the bacterium in order to determine the LD50 (the dose causing 50% of
the animals to die) while their heads were restrained in an exposure chamber.
The animals suffered severe effects including fever, abnormal breathing and
internal bleeding. Some died; all survivors were killed. None of the animals
survived or were kept alive for longer than 13 days.
In research into inhalational anthrax infection and to determine the
LD50, 12 monkeys were exposed to an aerosol containing anthrax spores while
their heads were restrained in an exposure chambers. The animals developed
shortness of breath, partial paralysis, disorientation and lethargy. 6 animals
died and those still alive after 10 days were killed. The infection has painful
and debilitating effects and the monkeys must have suffered immensely before
experiencing a painful death. There were no reports that pain relief or other
supportive measures were provided. Guinea-pigs were poisoned with a nerve agent,
exceeding the lethal dose by 5 times. Various combinations of therapy drugs were
then injected into their muscles. The animals were observed for signs of nerve
agent poisoning. These included incapacitation, abnormal body temperature, and
intestinal intussusception (an extremely painful condition where part of the
intestine telescopes on itself causing blockage of blood vessels – thus
causing gangrene or internal bleeding). Animals in poor condition were killed 24
hours after the poisoning. As nerve agents cause damage to many vital organs
resulting in convulsions, internal bleeding, breathing problems (and eventually
inability to breathe), the animals would have suffered severely before they died
or were killed. BUAV’s
Chief Executive, Michelle Thew
states: “It is unacceptable and inexplicable that at a time of growing public
concern regarding the use of animals in these controversial warfare tests, that
an advisory body providing an independent overview on the care and welfare of
animals should be disbanded.” Baboons
trapped for experiments Medical
researchers in S. Africa are benefiting from a cheap supply of live subjects on
which to experiment – baboons trapped in the wild after wreaking havoc on
farms. At least 2 universities - the University of Cape Town and N. W.
University - use wild-caught baboons for research, a practice now banned in
Europe and Australia due to animal welfare concerns. Primate experts say
that to confine a "born free" primate in a cage is unnecessarily
cruel, and that it is preferable to use animals bred in captivity.
However, it is far more expensive to breed primates in captivity than to catch
them in the wild. Now UCT staff and researchers are locked in fierce debate over
whether to continue experimenting on wild-caught animals, and will hold a
meeting on the issue later this month. "It's a political hot potato
at the moment," said one UCT scientist, who did not want to be named.
"I don't want to stop animal experimentation; I want to make sure it
happens under the best international practice, and that includes not using
wild-caught animals." A US primatologist now based in Cape Town, Tim
Newman, said there were valid arguments for using primates in medical research,
depending what tests were done, how the animals were treated and what happened
to them afterwards. "Imagine a wild primate - they have a stress
response very much like our own. They don't understand what's happening to them,
they're almost in a perpetual state of fear ... "If one must use
primates in research, then I would think there's a big difference, morally and
ethically, between using a captive-bred animal rather than a wild-caught
animal." Newman said research animals in S. Africa were generally kept in
small cages with only artificial lighting, "conditions that would horrify
most of us". "These are social animals and, particularly if
they're wild-caught, it's got to be a horrible experience for them."
Peter Lloyd, a senior scientist at Cape Nature, said farmers who wanted to sell
baboons to researchers had to prove the animals were a threat to their crops,
and that they had implemented measures like electric fencing to try to solve the
problem. "We can't forbid it, but we can manage it by making it as
difficult as possible," he said. Lloyd said Western Cape authorities had
received only one application in the last 5 years from a farmer wanting to trap
baboons and sell them. The price for a wild-caught baboon is anywhere
between R7500 and R15000, according to Este Kotze, an inspector with the SPCA
who serves on a national ethics committee overseeing the use of animals in
research. "We oppose the use of non-human primates, but we have to
accept that some research continues," Kotze said. "We make
recommendations on alternatives." Louis Jacobs, a spokesman for N. W.
University, said the university had last used baboons for medical research 4
years ago. "16 baboons, categorised as problem animals, were caught
with the assistance of and permits from nature conservation, at a holiday resort
in Rustenburg," he said. "Upon completion of the research, the animals
were humanely put down." Jacobs said all research on animals at the
university had to be approved by the ethics committee on which the SPCA served.
Most medical research on baboons involves testing medicines, including potential
Aids treatments, and surgical procedures. Lloyd said "huge" numbers of
baboons were taken from the wild in the 1970s for use in heart transplant
research. "It's still not a perfect system; but we're in the middle
and we have to address issues from both sides." Toni Brokhoven, a spokesman
for the animal rights group Beauty Without Cruelty, condemned all research on
live animals. "Whether they're wild-caught or captive-bred, the point is
that they're still wild animals," she said. "2 or 3 generations down
the line does not make them happy to be worked on, and does not make them any
less uncomfortable being in cages." Sunday Times 8th Aug GM
animal drug failures New
drugs developed following GM research for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer
and many other diseases continue to show promise in animals, but fail in human
trials. Recent high-profile failures such as Alzheimer’s drugs MK-677 (Merck)
and AN-1792 (Elan), plus the 95% failure rate in new anti-cancer treatments,
have led to academic and industry admissions of the lack of human relevance of
GM animals’ usage. Human investigations, meanwhile, are providing genuinely
useful results. Extract
from a letter by Michelle Thew and Fleur Dawes, BUAV Highgate
Farm After
the success of last year's camp at Highgate Farm in Lincolnshire - which breeds
rabbits and ferrets for vivisection - another protest camp was held in August.
Protesters occupied public land next to the farm but police said that due to
previous protests and complaints from the Lamborghini-driving owner of the farm,
Geoffrey Douglas, the camp would violate Sec 42 of the Criminal Justice and
Police Act 2001 (brought out to stop home demos). To get around this the protest
camp was to be between the hours of 7am-7pm each day. Like the previous camp,
the protest was non-violent. On the second day police arrested 2 protesters for
using a megaphone - charging them with 'contravening a direction given by a
police officer', and banning them from Lincolnshire until the case goes to
court! Then they banned the remaining protesters from going to Highgate Farm for
28 days – presumably under Sec 42 - it remains to be seen whether this was
lawful. So the camp is gone, but the farm continues - and would probably love
more visits from animal rights campaigners. It's at Highgate Lane,
Normanby-by-Spital, Market Rasen, LN8 2HQ. For more info call 07973722978 or
07973722978 or see www.closehighgatefarm.com University
fined Vanderbilt
Uni will be fined and undergo an inspection of its laboratory procedures after a
2008 laboratory accident killed a baby galago monkey. The U.S. Dept of
Agriculture, responsible for inspecting the care and appropriate treatment of
laboratory animals involved in medical research, fined Vanderbilt $8,156.
A lab worker put cage bedding into a washing machine without noticing
that the baby monkey was wrapped in the material, resulting in the monkey’s
death. The same year, 5 hamsters died or were euthanised as a result of being
injected with an incorrectly mixed compound during experimentation This is not
the first time Vanderbilt Uni has been cited for animal treatment violations. A
May 2005 USDA report cited Vanderbilt on 13 violations, including failure to
follow proper protocol, failure to use any aseptic during procedure and
inaccurate records. The number of federal violations rose to 9 in July 2006 and
lab animal deaths were reported through 2007. Inside
Vandy 30 Aug Photos
of injured monkeys leaked An
underground group calling itself the Animal Liberation Investigative Unit has
leaked 10 photos showing monkeys with deep gashes and open wounds the photos
from inside the walls of Primate Products Inc. in Doral. "Those pictures
may be the tip of the iceberg," said Don Anthony, spokesman for the Animal
Rights Foundation of Florida. "Who knows what else may be going on behind
the scenes?" Primate Products imports monkeys and sells them to
universities and pharmaceutical firms for medical research. The company also
sells restraints used in animal research and is registered with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture to conduct its own research. 2 watchdog groups. The
Animal Rights Foundation and Stop
Animal Exploitation Now filed complaints with the USDA alleging violations of
the Animal Welfare Act. The federal law sets standards of minimum care for
animals used in research, zoos and circuses. A federal inspector will show up
for an unannounced tour of the Doral facility to look for potential violations,
said USDA spokesman Dave Sacks. The photographs show "Frankstein like"
conditions at the facility. Some of the animals may have been kept in restraints
too long, leaving their hindquarters red and irritated, as evidenced by the
photos. Sun
Sentinel 2 Sept Wickham
Labs – LATEST:
Cartmell has lost his appeal against refusal of planning permission for new
premises at Torbay Farm. Amongst
other things it was considered “out of keeping” with the area. Doctors
protest monkey tests Area
doctors have been protesting at McLean Hospital in Belmont concerning a NASA
funded experiment on squirrel monkeys they called “absurd.” They accused the
hospital of a “flawed” use of $1.75m to test the effects of radiation in
space. “That’s a very stressful experience for a sociable little
creature,” said Dr. Marge Peppercorn of Scientists
find alternative to animal testing A
group of leading international scientists are developing a "test-tube gut
and liver" as an easier, more convenient and ethically sound alternative to
animal testing. The project, called InLiveTox, will be discussed at a major
international nanotoxicology conference at Protest
planned at Ilkley business The
National Anti Vivisection Alliance (NAVA) group plan a peaceful and sustained
protest at buildings owned by the Ilkley based firm NG Bailey, including the
firm’s head office, over the company’s involvement in the building of a £15m
laboratory at the University of Leicester, which will be used for carrying out
tests on animals. NAVA says it is targeting NG Bailey for protests as the main
sub contracting builders for the laboratory. Demonstrations have already taken
place at 2 Leeds offices. NAVA spokesman Luke Steele said “We fully oppose the
construction of this facility on the grounds of animals being used in
experimentation and the delays in scientific progress this will bring about.”
NG Bailey has confirmed that it is working with main contractor Willmott
Dixon on a project for the University of Leicester. The project will result a
new £15m central research facility to update the university’s existing
facilities to carry out life sciences research. Ilkley
Gazette 3 June Animal
activist in hunger strike protest A
Birmingham animal rights activist, Jonathan White, from Erdington, completed a
3day hunger strike in protest over the construction of a new animal research
laboratory at University of Leicester. He chained himself to a bench outside the
Coleshill branch of Willmott Dixon 1 of the contractors involved in building the
biomedical research centre. Jonathan White is joined by Rebecca House, Dean
Bracher and Tracy House in Coleshill protesting against plans to build a new
vivisection unit at Leicester Uni. The 20 yr old, who is a member of the
Birmingham Animal Rights Centre, survived on water for the duration of the food
strike. “I feel passionately about animal rights and hope this hunger strike
will have an impact on the managers at Willmott Dixon. We want them to change
their minds about being involved in building a vivisection unit. All animal
testing is cruel and we will continue to fight on behalf of defenceless
animals.” As a full time campaigner, Jonathan said he has dedicated the last 2
years to planning protests and putting pressure on organisations involved in the
practice of “the enslavement and exploitation of animals”. Birmingham Mail 9 June More
Say “No” To Animal Testing Recent
reports show that the build up to stop the proposed RM500m animal testing
facility in Alor Gajah, Malacca has gained momentum, with close to 6,000 people
from at least 25 countries having signed an online petition in protest. The
petition is sponsored by SPCA Selangor, Friends of the Earth Malaysia, BUAV and
the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments. The petition demands that the
government “act in all expediency to quash this proposal”. The petition also
claims that the half billion ringgit project should be scrapped “for ethical
reasons and for the lack of scientific validity in extrapolating data obtained
from animal testing to humans”. According to the report, 10,000 signatures
have been collected & the petition will be sent to Prime Minister Najib
Abdul Razak and Malacca Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam. Protests started in late
April after it was made known that state owned Melaka Biotech entered a joint
venture with Indian biotechnology giant Vivo BioTech Ltd and local company
Vanguard Creative Technologies Sdn Bhd to set up primate, small animals and
canine testing laboratories in the state. The project will be undertaken by
joint-venture company Vivo Biotech Sdn Bhd, formed with all 3 companies as
partners after the memorandum of understanding was inked in New Delhi last Jan
by Mohd Ali and representatives from Vivo BioTech and Vanguard.
The Malacca government has said it will proceed with the construction of
3 animal-testing laboratories despite growing protests. Science,
not animals - The
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working with pharmaceutical
companies to improve its ToxCast toxicity prediction tool. More than 100
molecules that failed in clinical trials for toxicity reasons, from Pfizer,
GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis and Merck, will be used to help validate the
tool. ToxCast uses a variety of screening assays to help understand how
bodily processes are affected by exposure to chemicals, and determine which
chemical exposures are most likely to cause adverse health effects. The tool
currently includes 500 high throughput assays, and the cost per chemical is
about $20,000 (£14,000). The aim is to make chemical testing faster, easier,
and less dependent on animal testing. Primates
used in research at
the University of Kansas Medical Centre are dying or suffering severe pain
because of negligence by researchers or their staff, an animal rights group said
in a complaint seeking a federal investigation. Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN)
filed an official complaint with the U.S. Dept of Agriculture asking for an
investigation of primates’ treatment and “the most serious action
allowable” under the federal Animal Welfare Act. In 2009, the USDA cited the
medical centre for 160 violations of federal animal protection laws during
research projects between Aug 2008 and June 2009. The USDA has the power to
impose fines for violations. Citing internal medical centre documents that it
obtained using a public records request, the animal rights group’s complaint
said 2 primates died of severe dehydration on March 31, 2008, after the facility
had problems with water pressure. It alleges that the death of a third primate 2
days earlier was likely also a result of dehydration and inadequate care. The
complaint also alleges that other primates being used to research morphine
withdrawal were allowed to suffer for days before being euthanised, and that
several monkeys died of gastric bloat after receiving inadequate care. The
earlier investigation found incidents of monkeys with an infectious disease
suffering from extreme weight loss, vomiting, diarrhoea and neurological
disorders for at least a day after they should have been euthanised. “The
information in the primate records indicate that the university has not done
anything to change
what they do (since the earlier violations),” Michael Budkie, executive
director of SAEN, said. “There are a number of violations clearly still in
existence.” Budkie said the medical centre also has not met federal
requirements for annual reporting that discloses when research animals do not
receive pain relief. The medical centre documents cited by the group discuss
animals that are screeching, vomiting, grimacing, not eating or unable to move.
SAEN said the medical centre did not report having any animals in experiments
involving unrelieved pain in 2006-2008. Budkie said his group would prefer that
the money being spent on animal research go instead to clinical research on
humans, which he said provides more beneficial medical treatments. Rejecting
animal testing Ito
En, Ltd., a major beverage maker based in Tokyo, abolished animal testing at the
end of April, while cosmetics giant Shiseido Co. aims to do so within the
company by March next year and abolish the practice completely, including
through outsourcing, by March 2013. The companies decided to scrap the tests,
eyeing European and U.S. markets, where animal rights movements are strong. In
Europe, sales of cosmetics developed via animal testing are regulated. Since it
is the first time major Japanese companies have decided to abolish animal tests,
the move is likely to affect other corporations. According to Ito En, the
company decided to abolish animal testing through talks with animal rights
organisations in the US, the company's major export market, and also because it
learned that 2 major U.S. beverage makers have abolished the practice.
"It's an inevitable step as we take our business global," a staff
member said. Ito En had experimented with animals, mainly rats, to verify the
effectiveness of catechin, which is a substance in green tea. From now on,
however, the company will adopt alternative testing methods such as using human
cells. Yet animal tests are required to obtain government authorisation of foods
for specified health use. The company said it would outsource animal tests in
case the data derived from such procedures become necessary in the future.
Shiseido has not performed animal testing in its cosmetics research and
development since the latter half of the 1980s and has limited such tests to the
application of cosmetic materials. This spring, the company decided on a policy
to completely abandon the practice, in accordance with EU regulations. The EU
has banned animal testing of cosmetics and their materials since March last
year. The EU also prohibited sales of cosmetics that used animal experimentation
conducted outside the EU, except for 5 kinds of testing, such as repeated dose
toxicity studies. The EU is calling for a total ban on animal experiments by
March 2013. Shiseido's European business accounts for 11% of the company's total
sales. Although Shiseido has not revealed the actual conditions of its
experiments, a company official said, "We'd like to deal with the situation
positively, as a socially responsible company, and plan to offer opportunities
to exchange opinions with experts and animal rights organizations." In
Japan, product safety data based on animal testing are required in principle to
receive government approval for using new, quasi-drug elements. Concerning the
problem, the Shiseido official said, "We'll shift our production policy
from developing new materials [that traditionally require animal testing] to
utilizing conventional materials." There are many small and medium-size
cosmetics companies that do not conduct animal tests. However, animal tests are
performed within major companies, including irritability tests on the eyes and
skin of rabbits and other creatures. Fusako Nogami, director of the civic
association All Life in a Viable Environment (ALIVE), said she hoped
corporations would make products without sacrificing animals to the greatest
extent possible. "It's a big problem compared with foreign countries,
because Japan has no effective law to protect animals from animal experiments
and no system to monitor them. Therefore, we can't grasp the actual
conditions," she said. Hajime Kojima, chief of the new experiment
evaluation office at the National Institute of Health Sciences, said unnecessary
animal testing should be avoided. "Although alternative testing methods
still have their limits, we've promoted the development of new technologies,
including utilising iPS [human stem] cells," he said. "More support
from the government is necessary so Japan's chemical industry won't lose the
ability to compete in international markets." Cystic
Fibrosis has
been claimed enthusiastically as an example of effective animal experimentation.
This is not true, and can easily be disproved. The reality is that:
* The genetically altered CF mouse gets no lung infections - unlike human
patients who usually die from lung infections. * Mice don't have the glands
which cause the lung problems humans have. * Human CF patients also have
problems with the pancreas, intestines and with reproduction. Animal
models don't. * Human CF cells can be grown and tested on. * Treatments
were discovered in cell culture and through human study.
www.vivisectioninformation.com The Mazor breeding farm
currently
holds 1,000 long tailed macaque monkeys. Some of these monkeys were wild caught
on Mauritius, while others were born in captivity. Mazor is a link in the chain
of a cruel trade in which monkeys are forcibly removed from their natural
environment then flown thousands of miles in small cages to laboratories or
breeding facilities. These animals will have been separated from their family
groups, the young brutally separated from their mothers. Mazor is little
more than a monkey breeding factory, whose manager considers the monkeys to be
"production units" whose sole purpose is to increase profits, through
the sale of the offspring to laboratories. To further increase profitability,
the young are separated early from their mothers, allowing these females to mate
as soon as possible. Early forced separation is traumatic to both the young and
the mothers. These mothers will cry out and cling in desperation to the bars of
their cages in a vain attempt to look for their young. The young who have been
moved to a separate enclosure, will in turn look for their mothers and display
signs of severe distress. Not all will survive this difficult transition. Those
who do will have their chests tattooed with a 4 digit serial number and then be
sold to laboratories in Europe, the US and Israel. Every year, hundreds of these
terrified young monkeys will be forced to travel huge distances in tiny crates
to faraway destinations, to a fate worse than death, which awaits them. Each of
these "units" will fill the pockets of the breeding farm manager to
the tune of $2800. The vast majority of these young monkeys will be sold
to laboratories that specialise in toxicology. Among the clients of Mazor are
Covance (Germany), the Swedish centre for Biological studies, as well as
laboratories in the UK, Belgium, Italy and the US. The monkeys will be housed in
miserable conditions and will undergo toxicity tests in which they will be
injected or force fed with drugs and other chemicals. Most of the animals will
die during these tests, and those who survive will be killed at the end of the
experiment. Most of the monkeys sold to laboratories within Israel will undergo invasive
brain experiments. These experiments involve water deprivation, immobilization
in a primate chair for extended periods of time, surgical removal of the top of
the skull, and implantation of equipment in the skull and the brain itself.
These types of experiment typically last several years, after which most of the
monkeys will be killed. In rare instances, individual monkeys are released and
allowed to undergo rehabilitation in sanctuaries. This is a relatively recent
phenomenon and is due in large part to public outcry.
Behind Closed Doors, together with other animal rights' groups, called on
the Minister of Environmental Protection to withdraw the Mazor trade licence.
The Minister is currently studying our written proposal and is expected shortly
to announce his decision.
Please write a polite message to the Minister, making clear your views
that the Mazor monkey breeding farm must be closed down: Gilad
Erdan, Minister of Environmental Protection, sar@sviva.gov.il fax +972-2-6535958 Postal address: Kanfey Nesharim
5, P.O. Box 34033, Jerusalem 95464, Israel. P&G
may sponsor London Olympics Responding
to concerns expressed by animal welfare groups to news that the International
Olympic Committee's (IOC) are in discussions with the USA based multinational
corporation Procter & Gamble as a potential sponsor of the London Olympic
Games, London Assembly Member Darren Johnson (Green) has tabled a formal
question to the Mayor of London at the next Mayor's Question Time in July 2010:
Given Proctor & Gamble's continued use of animal testing for cosmetics and
household products in the US, in spite of such practices being banned in the UK
and across the EU, can P&G really be considered a suitable sponsor for
London 2012 and will you make clear your opposition to any such move?
According to an RSPCA information paper - The testing of cosmetics using
animals, 'The use of animals to test cosmetics or their ingredients is now
banned in the EU. By 2013, it will also be illegal to sell in the EU any
cosmetics tested on animals elsewhere in the world.'
Darren Johnson said: "…..Such unethical practices make it
completely inappropriate as a London 2012 sponsor and I am calling on the Mayor
to oppose P&G as an Olympic sponsor, unless they agree to end animal
testing" Please lobby your MP now to stop Procter & Gamble from
becoming a sponsor of the London 2012 Olympics. P&G make animals suffer for
brands like Herbal Essences, Fairy, Olay and Pantene. P&G’s unethical
practices are in fundamental conflict with the values of the UK and the Olympic
movement. By accepting sponsorship from P&G, the London 2012 Olympics would
be promoting gratuitous violence towards animals that is strongly opposed by the
majority of the public. BUAV
uncovers new primate shipments The
BUAV’s long-standing campaign to end the transportation by airlines of
non-human primates destined for the research industry has had many successes.
The primate research industry is feeling the effects as an increasing number of
airlines are helping to put a stop to animal cruelty and suffering by refusing
to transport primates destined for the research industry. Every year thousands
of primates are transported around the world. Airlines play an important role in
this chain of suffering. The individuals are packed into wooden crates, usually
too small to allow them even to stand up, and travel as cargo, predominantly on
passenger air flights. They often have to endure inadequate ventilation, noise
and extreme temperature fluctuations, as well as delays as they are shipped on
extremely long journeys to laboratories across the world. A small number of
airlines continue to facilitate this cruel trade. Recent information obtained by
the BUAV shows that the following airlines transported primates for the research
industry during 2009: AIR CHINA - 109 rhesus macaques from China to the
USA on 1st Dec; AIR FRANCE - 78 long-tailed macaques from
Mauritius to USA on 18th Feb; AMERICAN AIRLINES - 20 night
monkeys from Peru to the USA on 23rd June; AMERIJET - 42
African green monkeys from St Kitts to the USA on 26th Oct; CARIBBEAN
AIRLINES - 36 African green monkeys from Barbados to the USA on 26th
May; CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES - 60 rhesus macaques from China to the USA on
27th May; CHINA SOUTHERN AIRLINES - 120 long-tailed macaques
from Indonesia to the USA on 13th Nov; EL AL AIRLINES – 120
long-tailed macaques from Israel to the USA on 1st Oct; PHILIPPINE
AIRLINES - 100 long-tailed macaques from the Philippines to the USA
on 1st Nov. Please support the BUAV’s Cargo Cruelty campaign
to stop this suffering. Please send letters to these airlines: www.buav.org/campaigns/cargocruelty
NASA Engineer Resigns
Over Planned Primate Testing NASA
aerospace engineer April Evans has resigned her position as a space architect on
the International Space Station (ISS) programme as a result of NASA’s decision
to conduct primate irradiation testing after 30 years of non-usage, a decision
Evans believes is a major step backward for NASA’s animal testing record.
Evans argues that not only do primate irradiation experiments fall out of line
with the Obama administration’s long range objective of developing new
technologies to shield space radiations, but it also risks current and future
international relations and partnerships crucial to NASA’s success.
Evans’ concerns and opposition to
NASA primate testing have been met with support by the European Space Agency (ESA)
along with Animal Defenders International (ADI), a campaign group whose
objective is legislative action in protection of animals. In a letter to ADI,
ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain categorically opposed the “necessity
of complementary experiments with monkeys in combination with the human research
objectives of Mars500,” and further declined “any interest in monkey
research and does not consider any need or use for such result.” Evans, a
9-year veteran of the Human Spaceflight Programme, served as the NASA VIPER ISS
Visiting Vehicles Integration team lead for the past 3 years at NASA’s Johnson
Space Centre in Houston, Texas, prior to her resignation. She is a recipient of
the NASA Space Flight Awareness Honoree award, a designation granted to fewer
than 1% of the total NASA government and contractor workforce annually for their
excellence. “After much deliberation, I resigned from NASA because I could
not support the scientific justification for this monkey radiobiology
experiment,” wrote Evans in a letter to Samuel Aronson, director of the
Brookhaven National Laboratory, which was contracted by NASA to conduct the
tests on squirrel monkeys. Instead, Evans has encouraged NASA to focus on
developing space radiation shielding. “Both astronauts and hardware are at
risk from the space radiation environment. This is a problem that all space
agencies will have to solve for interplanetary space travel. Space vehicle
radiation shielding is necessary technology for a sustainable long-term human
space exploration programme.“ Evans said to ADI. She believes that
scientists and engineers should be given the chance and time to advance
shielding technology. NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden defended such
experimentation calling it “very strongly peer-reviewed” and “very
humane.” However, he did not comment on the growing internal debate and
apparent contradiction between the proposed test and the new direction NASA
received from the Obama administration. “These tests were proposed to
support a schedule for space exploration that no longer exists,“ said
Evans. “Experiments on primates only take focus away from the critical need
for shielding technology.”
She wrote in her letter to Samuel Aronson that “the planned
monkey experiment focuses on predicting how the human brain may function after
space radiation exposure. This isn’t solving the problem of space radiation;
it’s merely further refining our measurements of the consequences”. ADI
has also written to NASA and Brookhaven National Laboratory, urging them to
consider their European counterpart’s decision to not conduct these tests. “These
tests are not only inhumane, they are also not a wise choice of the times. They
are costly and scientifically unsupported. We urge NASA to stop ignoring the
overwhelming opposition to these tests coming from the international space
community, as well as from its own rank” said Jan Creamer, President of
ADI. “We also would like to urge other NASA employees who object to these
experiments to voice their opposition.” In the face of a nationwide
budgetary crisis, the costs associated with the planned experiments have also
raised concern. Reports indicate that these controversial radiation tests will
cost an estimated $1.75m of taxpayer money. Just 2 weeks ago, however, NASA
announced potential layoffs of up to 5,000 workers, while suspending NASA’s
back-to-the-moon Constellation programme due to budgetary shortages. Take
Action: Please write a polite letter for the attention of the NASA
Administrator Charles F. Bolden Jr. Request that he reconsider financing such
horrific experiments. Public Communications Office, NASA Headquarters, Suite
5K39, Washington, DC 20546-0001 E-mail: public-inquiries@hq.nasa.gov 9
staff at the University of Wisconsin-Madison could go to jail
or
pay heavy fines for carrying out decompression experiments on sheep for the US
navy. Some sheep died in the experiments, which aimed to find new ways to save
divers from decompression sickness, otherwise known as "the bends".
Antivivisectionists at the Alliance for Animals in Madison and at PETA
discovered that Wisconsin has a law banning the killing of animals through
decompression. The AFA and PETA filed charges, and on 2 June circuit judge Amy
Smith backed the animal-rights groups' claim. She concluded that the researchers
"intentionally or negligently violated Wisconsin law", and so should
face criminal charges. Smith dismissed the university's defence that the
research project was exempt from the law. The case is the first in which animal
researchers have faced criminal charges in the US since 1981. "If animal
rights groups continue to pursue the use of laws in ways they were not
originally intended, I'm concerned that universities may be forced to expend
additional resources to counteract these unwarranted legal attacks," says
Frankie Trull, president of the Foundation for Biomedical Research in Washington
DC, which defends animal experiments. "I
recommend institutions doing biomedical research educate their in-house counsels
about these animal rights strategies and be prepared."
New Scientist 14th June
The
law was in place, the vivisectors ignored it yet they call it an “unwarranted
attack”. In painful
animal experiments, anything goes… In
the world of animal experimentation, nothing is what it seems. It would be a
reasonable assumption that incidents for which Yale animal laboratories were
cited recently by federal inspectors would be among the worst practices that
have occurred
at the laboratories since they warranted citations. Far worse occurs to the
animals confined in Yale University
labs. In experiments at Yale, animals have had their feet shocked, had
holes cut into their skulls, had toxins injected in their brains to cripple them, been addicted
to nicotine, cocaine and methamphetamines and killed. These incidents are not
deemed abuses by federal inspectors because these practices are perfectly legal.
There is no experiment regardless of how painful or how trivial that is simply
prohibited. If the requisite paperwork is completed, anything can be done to an
animal in a laboratory, and with funding from an unwitting public.
New Haven Register 16 June Kuala
Lumpur Govt probes British funded lab The
KL government is considering shutting down a controversial British funded animal
testing lab if there is evidence of cruelty there, according to the government's
top veterinary official. The Progenix Research lab, which uses monkeys, dogs,
rodents and rabbits for toxicology testing, is accused of poisoning the animals
to death. Veterinary Services director Abdul Aziz Jamaludin said the company
will be ordered to shut down if his department finds animals were subject to
abuse. "If animal testing cannot be conducted in the US or Europe, I see no
reason why they should be allowed here. Animal welfare laws in Malaysia which is
bidding to become a major biotech hub in S.E. Asia, are not as stringent as
those in developed nations, although there are laws to prosecute those who treat
animals badly, adding that research companies should use tissue culture rather
than animals to conduct tests for drugs and cosmetics. I have got a report on
the lab and I will act on it “ he told AFP from Beijing. The BUAV condemned
the facility, which is based in Penang and run by the Britain based Alpha
Biologics. "We are extremely concerned that a UK company has an animal
laboratory in Malaysia," said Sarah Kite, its director of special projects.
These animals are being cruelly used for toxicity testing in a country where
there is no legislation governing their welfare, animals are quite literally
poisoned to death." Last month a local Malaysian leader drew criticism from
campaigners for saying that God had created animals to be used by man, amid
controversy over an Indian drug company's plans to build an animal testing
facility in the country. FreeMalaysia13
June Last
Chance To Save EU Animal Experiments Agreement Greens
in the European Parliament are leading a challenge to the proposed new EU law on
animal experiments (an update of EU Directive 86/609) because of controversial
amendments. Their challenge is the last chance in the lengthy negotiations
to prevent amendments that would weaken the legal requirement to use available
non-animal alternative methods (in force in the EU since 1986) and restrict the
ability of national governments to introduce higher animal welfare standards
than those required under the EU law. The Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research
has supported the challenge, saying the amendments are “to the detriment of
medical progress as well as animal welfare.”
Since the EU Commission’s original proposal in Nov 2008 to
revise the 20-year old animal experiments directive, negotiations between the EU
Parliament and Council have been ongoing throughout 2009. Many of the most
progressive animal welfare measures have been stripped out in the face of
intense lobbying by the animal research industry, most notably restrictions on
the use of non-human primates and protection of some sentient invertebrate
species. However the most recent compromise text finalised after the last
‘trialogue’ meeting on 7th Dec, goes even further by removing the
legal requirement to use available non-animal alternative research methods
instead of animal experiments. The
EU’s Swedish Presidency has been keen to negotiate early agreement of the
proposed new directive and MEPs were asked this week to give their verdict, with
each political group in the Parliament having either to endorse or reject the
text. Many MEPs are dissatisfied with the compromise, but only the
Greens/European Free Alliance group has publicly rejected the deal on offer and
stated they are prepared, if there are no further opportunities to reach
agreement through the trialogue process, to bring forward amendments at a
plenary vote. The Greens/EFA group has highlighted 4 requirements for agreement:
– removal of the restriction on EU member states’ ability to continually
improve animal welfare standards; preservation of the requirement to use
available alternative methods; an end to primates being used for trivial
experiments, and introduction of a requirement to develop strategies to replace
the use of primates in experiments. Dr Caroline Lucas said: “It is absolutely
unacceptable that this compromise text fails to require the use of available
alternative methods in all cases, something that for decades has been
fundamental in giving legal impetus to humane research. The loss of this
provision and removal of member states’ freedom to introduce stronger
laboratory animal welfare measures nationally in the future is simply a
compromise too far, and I am delighted that Green MEPs have been able to take a
stand. "The EU has an opportunity to lead the world in progressive animal
research legislation, and yet the proposal doesn’t even protect highly
sentient primates from trivial experiments and contains no strategy for phasing
out their use altogether. This is not legislation fit for the 21st
century, and I hope other Parliamentary groups will join the Greens in standing
up for humane science when this comes to a Plenary vote." Government
Ministers from Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands publicly raised their
concerns at a meeting of the EU’s Agriculture Council on Dec 15. The UK’s
position on the compromise is not known, and remains subject to parliamentary
scrutiny. The House of Lords EU Committee produced a report in Nov supporting
far reaching animal welfare and humane science measures, but the 2 most
controversial issues – the ability of Member States to introduce stricter
measures and the weakening of the requirement to use available alternative
methods – were not at the time under discussion so have not been considered by
those tasked with providing UK parliament scrutiny.
Monkey
starved to death in US lab Australia
to lift ban on animal transplants 2009
– a year of progress against vivisection Despite
a rise of 14% in animal use admitted by the UK Home Office…. Chimp
research into HIV was finally understood to be useless. It was
expertly examined and dismissed by a team of scientists who published in a
medical journal at the end of 2008. A
review on animal GM models for heart disease showed it was ineffective and
misleading. Immunologists explained that "mice are lousy models for
clinical studies" and suggested we study humans instead. A
published study stated "Despite claims by the research industry,
chimpanzees have proven to be a poor model for human cancer research." Technology
incl virtual humans, artificial skin grown from human skin cells & 3D
models of brain blood flow have been revealed & approved. UK
researchers investigating what went wrong in the drug trial with TGN1412 in
2006, developed a test that uses a mixed culture of white blood cells and
endothelial cells, which prove what drugs like this really do. Computer
modelling lead to the Times headline “Animal experiments could end in a
generation”, as computer modelling is proving more accurate. “These
models have the ability to be far more accurate. I sometimes think it is just
tradition - that feeling that if it’s safe in an animal it’s safe in a human
- which means so many animal tests are still carried out.” ‘Toxichip’
was revealed - which can monitor how cells behave and interact with drugs,
chemical pollutants in the environment and toxic substances in food and
beverages. Scientists
have for the first time been able to record spontaneous epileptic activity
in brain tissue "Until now we’ve only been able to mimic epilepsy using
animal models but this can never give you a true picture of what is actually
going on inside the human brain in epilepsy". MEPs
were overwhelmed by the massive support from the public for meaningful
changes in the legislation affecting vivisection in Europe. MPs
in the UK in their masses supported EDM569, which called for an independent
inquiry into animal testing. This EDM finished joint 10th out of over
2400 Early Day Motions, ranking inside the top 0.5%. This showed beyond
doubt the political support for historic action in this area. Even
more MPs supported EDM545, which expressed outrage at the unacceptable
increase in animal use & demanded action to reverse this trend.
Record
number of humane research applications San
Francisco, Bay Area researchers are
working with a technique that could soon revolutionise the way new medicines are
developed. By using stem cells, they are conducting what amounts to human drug
trials, in a dish. The cells match those of a patient suffering from a rare and
deadly heart condition. "We can actually make heart cells right in a dish
that's genetically identical to a person, then we can give drugs to those cells
and have the heart speed up or slow down and so we're doing clinical trials in a
dish right now," Dr. Bruce Conklin said. "To be able to work directly
on human tissue, directly on human heart tissue, directly on human neuronal
tissue is a fantastic leap forward." That is
because for decades researchers have relied on lab animals to conduct the early
phases of drug testing; but that has led to many false starts because their
physiology is significantly different from humans. But now, S. San
Francisco-based Ipierian believes it is on the verge of developing new
treatments for neuro-degenerative diseases using drugs tested first on human
nerve cells created in their lab. "We have started with skin cells from
patients that already have the disease, turned those skin cells into stem cells
and then turn those stem cells into neurons that also have the disease,"
Ipierian senior scientist John Dimos said. Using the diseased neurons,
researchers can test dozens of samples at a time to see which drugs are working,
with potentially far more accurate results than in animal models.
Charles
River Labs fined for killing primate Charles River Laboratories
has been fined $4,500 for killing a macaque last April at its Longley Lane
facility. This is almost half of the $10,000 it paid the USDA after a May 28,
2008, incident in which severe heat led to the deaths of 32 primates in their
lab on Dunn Circle in Sparks. USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
spokesman Dave Sacks said no information was available on how the USDA reached
the $4,500 figure. The incident was documented in a June inspection of the
facility by the USDA and brought to light by the animal advocacy group Stop
Animal Exploitation Now! Cage washers “sterilize the enclosures, meaning that
this primate was literally boiled alive.” Cianciaruso acknowledged the macaque
died as a result of being put through the cage washer, but the specific cause of
death was not determined, stating, “This unfortunate incident was the result
of human error. We have enhanced our quality control processes at the Reno
facility and have implemented these best practices at all of our sites globally.
We expect these actions will preclude the recurrence of a similar event.” The
USDA report said Charles River workers twice signed off that there were no
animals in the cage. They were supposed to check before a pre cleaning and
before putting the cage into the washer, the USDA Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service report said. “Since an animal died, the training was not of
sufficient frequency to remind the people to thoroughly look for animals before
having the cages washed,” the report said. “This is important for the health
and safety of all the animals.” The company said several human errors led to
the animal’s death. As a result of the laboratory’s
investigation, 5 additional preventive measures were added to the
standard operating procedures to enhance communication among workers during the
cage changeover. Cameras in the dirty cage staging area were added and practices
have been updated at all Charles River sites. RGI 6th
Jan
Antidote
pesticide study Antidote
is currently funding a unique UK study on the effects of pesticides and
pesticide mixtures on human health. The aim is to promote good science and
get rid of animal tests. The regulatory authorities require pesticide chemicals
to be tested on a rodent and a non-rodent species (Biocides directive 98/8/EC),
which invariably means rats and dogs. Not only are these tests extremely
cruel, but the results they yield are meaningless for human health. Another
major issue ignored until very recently by the regulatory authorities is the
effect of mixtures of pesticides on human health. Animal toxicity
experiments are designed to test one chemical at a time. Animal studies
would not be able to cope with chemical mixtures. According to toxicopathologist
Dr Vyvyan Howard, in order to test the 1,000 most common chemicals in unique
combinations of 3, we would need to conduct 166m animal experiments. That
simply isn't feasible, and even if it was, the results would not be relevant to
humans, hence the rationale for applying toxicogenomics (the study of how
genes respond to a toxic agent) and human cell lines. Using human cells
means the study is relevant to humans, and using toxicogenomics yields results
in 24-48 hours. Animal toxicity tests typically last 90 days. Toxicogenomics is
also ideally suited to chemical mixtures because hundreds of tests can be
carried out simultaneously on minituarised DNA slides. We expect the study to be
completed within about 6 months', after which it will be submitted to a
peer-reviewed scientific journal for publication. Once that is achieved, results
will be released to the media and the EU regulatory authorities will also be
informed.
Antidote Europe,
the French-based NGO, was awarded the Professor
Pietro Croce Prize for its achievements in the fields of scientific progress and
public health. The award ceremony took place at the Palazzo dei Conservatori
under the auspices of the Mayor of Rome, a Ministry of Health representative and
several distinguished academics. This annual award is sponsored by the Italian
groups Equivita and the National Ecological Movement (UNA). The French NGO has worked
tirelessly to promote modern toxicology and helped to include the concept of
"toxicogenomics" in the EU's chemical testing programme, REACH
(Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals). The
application of toxicogenomics was the subject of a special session held in
Brussels by an EU risk assessment committee. Currently, Antidote Europe is
waging a public awareness campaign on the public health dangers of the synthetic
chemical bisphenol A, found in baby bottles and other plastic products. Previous
studies using toxicogenomics and human cells have demonstrated the
hormone-mimicking effects of bisphenol A. This
chemical is now a prime suspect for the significant increase over the past few
decades of hormone-sensitive cancers, such as breast and prostate cancer. In
addition, Antidote Europe has commissioned a laboratory study on the effects of
single pesticides and pesticide mixtures on human cells. Very few scientific
studies exist on the effects of pesticide mixtures on human health. The late
Professor Pietro Croce, a member of the American College of Pathologists, was
one of Italy's most outspoken critics of animal research. A prolific writer and
public speaker, he subsequently spearheaded an international movement away from
animal experiments in favour of modern methods of scientific research.
Cosmetic
testing in Japan Shiseido Co. told a group of
anti-animal testing activists that the top Japanese cosmetics maker has boosted
efforts to suspend the controversial practice in the near future, if not
immediately. During the first meeting of its kind at an office of Shiseido,
company officials explained ongoing measures it has taken to develop viable
alternatives to ensure the safety of its products without using animals for
testing. Members of the Japan Anti-Vivisection Association handed to the
officials the signatures of some 45,000 people calling on the company for an
immediate halt to animal testing. The 2 sides met at a time when major cosmetics
companies in Japan are faced with the need to develop ways to produce makeup
without animal testing as the EU is set to introduce in 2013 a full ban on the
sale of all cosmetics products made through animal testing, including those
produced outside its economies.
Toxichip
could bring about the end of animal testing.
Toxichip, which was developed at the Tyndall National Institute in Cork, is
capable of monitoring how cells behave and interact with drugs, chemical
pollutants in the environment and toxic substances in food and beverages.
Cell-based biosensors, developed and made at Tyndall, integrated in the Toxichip
platform also have the potential to replace animal testing currently used in
toxicity screening. Already 2 companies, one in Ireland and another in France,
are seeking to invest in and apply this new technology.
Wickham labs has lodged
an appeal against the 2 planning applications which were heard by Winchester
City Council in Sept '09 for which the planning committee refused planning
permission, namely the 'building of a new laboratory' at Torbay Farm, Lower
Upham, and the 'erection of a security fence'. Letters of
objections are to reach The Planning Inspectorate by 14 Jan. The address is
: The Planning Inspectorate, Room 3/19 Eagle Wing, Temple Quay House,
2 The Square, Temple Quay,. Bristol, BS1 6PN. The reference numbers to the
planning application are : APP/L1765/A/09/2117832 and APP/L1765/A/09/2117S826.
We continue to demonstrate outside the labs every week and will now
plan to have a demonstration outside Torbay Farm, Lower Upham, for information
purposes only. SWAT A
mock funeral was held on Thurs 10th
Dec in Wickham Sq to commemorate all the animals killed in Wickham labs. A small
coffin, pallbearers and grave stones with pictures of the various animals used
and RIP on them were carried round the square.
Police had refused to close the road for a short march despite being
informed of the protest beforehand – they said it would be ‘inconvenient’.
After the ceremony we went around the corner to the labs and as the workers came
out we could voice our feeling to them. Some
scurried on whilst others were arrogant and provocative. The Home Office is
currently investigating claims of animal cruelty after a BUAV undercover
investigator worked at the labs for 8 months. Wickham Lab technician director
Chris Bishop said they were working with the Home Office.
Await
another whitewash Animal
testing labs need policing. Monkey
to be sent to Mars A monkey may be sent to
Mars, under plans unveiled by Russian scientists. Although the ape will be
looked after by a robot on the mission, the decision is expected to spark
controversy with animal rights groups. The Russians first succeeded in
putting monkeys into orbit in 1983. "We have plans to return to space,”
said Zurab Mikvabia, director of the Institute of Experimental Pathology &
Therapy in Georgia which supplied apes for the programme in the 1980s. The
Institute is in preliminary talks with Russia's Cosmonautics Academy about
preparing monkeys for a simulated Mars mission that could lay the groundwork for
sending an ape to the Red Planet, he said. Such an initiative would build on
Mars-500, a joint Russian-European project that saw 6 human volunteers confined
in a capsule in Moscow for 120 days earlier this year to simulate a Mars
mission. Mr Mikvabia said: "Earlier this programme was aimed at sending
cosmonauts, people (to Mars). But given the length of the flight to Mars, and
given the cosmic rays for which we don't have adequate protection over such a
long trip, discussions have focused recently on sending an ape instead."
Estimates for the length of the journey to Mars vary depending on the type of
mission envisioned, but the European Space Agency says its proposal for a
round-trip mission would take 520 days. If Russia pursues the idea of sending
monkeys to Mars, Mikvabia's institute could become the site of an enclosed
"biosphere" where apes would be kept for long periods to simulate
space flights. The Institute said a robot would accompany the first
primate to Mars to feed and look after the ape. Mr Mikvabia said:
"The robot will feed the monkey, will clean up after it. Our task will be
to teach the monkey to co-operate with the robot."
Harvard
to radiate squirrel monkeys NASA plans to zap more than
2 dozen squirrel monkeys with radiation and then test the toxic simians at
Belmont’s McLean Hospital as part of a Harvard Medical School project. These
monkeys will be forced to spend the rest of their lives doing a host of
behavioural tasks to assess how the radiation damages their brains and their
bodies over time. The $1.75m project calls for National Aeronautics & Space
Administration researchers to blast 28 monkeys with gamma rays equivalent to 3
years of space travel in an attempt to gauge the effects of a mission to Mars on
a human. After the animals are radiated in a Long Island, N.Y., facility, plans
call for them to be shipped to Belmont, where they would be monitored for the
rest of their lives in McLean as part of a Harvard Medical School project.
Harvard Medical School’s Dr. Jack Bergman is in charge of the McLean project.
NASA officials vigorously have defended the programme, which will mark the
agency’s first monkey testing in years. “The overall objective of the
planned studies with the nonhuman primates is to help NASA predict
neurobehavioural effects of space radiation, which are among the most poorly
understood health risks for astronauts,” said a NASA spokesman. “Studies in
nonhuman primates are essential to be able to best predict neurobehavioral
effects of radiation on humans.” NASA officials also have insisted the monkeys
won’t be killed. PETA representatives point out that previous NASA experiments
on primates have left animals with fatal cancer and brain tumours. The project
still is awaiting final government approval, but PETA officials are hoping
protests will block the monkey testing. “It’s easy to establish how space
travel affects humans Just study humans who’ve travelled to space,” Byrne
said. “It speaks volumes about humans’ callous attitudes toward animals on
our planet.” Boston
Herald 28 Nov Mazor
Farm - Call for Action The Mazor breeding farm in
Israel currently holds 1,000 long tailed macaque monkeys. Some of these monkeys
were wild caught on Mauritius, while others were born in captivity. Mazor is a
link in the chain of cruel trade in which monkeys are forcibly removed from
their natural environment then flown thousands of miles in small cages to
laboratories or breeding facilities. These animals will have been separated from
their family groups, the young brutally separated from their mothers.
Mazor is little more than a monkey breeding factory, whose manager considers the
monkeys to be "production units" whose sole purpose is to increase
profits, through the sale of the offspring to laboratories. To further increase
profitability, the young are separated early from their mothers, allowing these
females to mate as soon as possible. Early forced separation is traumatic to
both the young and the mothers. These mothers will cry out and cling in
desperation to the bars of their cages in a vain attempt to look for their
young. The young who have been moved to a separate enclosure, will in turn look
for their mothers and display signs of severe distress. Not all of these animals
will survive this difficult transition and some will die. Those who survive will
have their chests tattooed with a 4 digit serial number and then be sold to
laboratories in Europe, the US and Israel. Every year, hundreds of these
terrified young monkeys will be forced to travel huge distances in tiny crates
to faraway destinations, to a fate worse than death. Each of these
"units" will fill the pockets of the breeding farm manager to the tune
of $2,800. The vast majority of these young monkeys will be sold to laboratories
that specialise in toxicology (poisoning tests). Among the clients of Mazor are
Covance (Germany), the Swedish centre for Biological studies, as well as
laboratories in the UK, Belgium, Italy and the US. The monkeys will be injected
or force fed with drugs and other chemicals. Most of the animals will die during
these tests, and those who survive will be killed at the end of the experiment.
Most of the monkeys sold to laboratories within Israel will undergo invasive
brain experiments.. These experiments involve water deprivation, immobilization
in a primate chair for extended periods of time, surgical removal of the top of
the skull, and implantation of equipment in the skull and the brain itself.
These types of experiment typically last several years, after which most of the
monkeys will be killed. In rare instances, individual monkeys are released and
allowed to undergo rehabilitation in sanctuaries. This is a relatively recent
phenomenon and is due in large part to public outcry. Last July, Behind Closed
Doors together with other animal rights' groups, called on the Minister of
Environmental Protection to withdraw the Mazor trade licence (import and
export). The Minister is currently studying our written proposal and is expected
shortly to announce his decision. We would like to ask you to please write a
polite message to the Minister, making clear your views that the Mazor monkey
breeding farm must be closed down: Gilad Ardan, Minister of Environmental
Protection sar@sviva.gov.il
fax +972-2-6535958 Postal address: Kanfey Nesharim 5, P.O. Box 34033,
Jerusalem 95464, Israel.
Lab
monkeys saved Puerto
Rico monkey breeding facility halted Uni
Cancels Anthrax Project SPEAK
demo - Police pay out over monkey photo HLS
– the fight goes on In 2009, there were well
over 900 protests in 25 countries on every inhabited continent on the planet.
This was over 100 more protests than 2008, with 5 more countries joining the
global movement to smash HLS. As well as this HLS was exposed yet again in late
2008 for causing untold suffering to primates. Later in 2009 they had the gall
to lobby for the continuation of the use of wild caught primates in European
laboratories. As well as the increase in actions, 2009 has been a monumental
year for the campaign, as strategic targeting of shareholders forced HLS' share
price Activist
wins the right to protest Berkeley
activists to sue over federal raid Judge
orders release of US animal rights activist Replace
animal tests in EU British
civil servants have been shocked
by the degree of suffering permitted
by proposed
EU rules on animal experiments. The draft EU directive “on the protection of
animals used for scientific purposes” would allow monkeys, dogs, cats and
foals to be used for experiments leading to severe and lasting pain. Animals’
bones could be broken, they could undergo paralysing electric shocks, they could
suffer trauma leading to multiple organ failure, they could be confined to
restrict movement and they could be kept in isolation for prolonged periods. The
standards would also allow organs to be transplanted between species even if
this led to “severe distress”. The rules make clear that experiments would
not be confined to small breeds such as beagles but include large dogs such as
St Bernards. Horses and ponies bred in family stables could be used by
laboratories in Europe. The directive would permit practices banned in Britain,
which can continue to impose its own rules. The Home Office said it did not want
to see British standards weakened. BUAV, which campaigns against animal testing,
accused the EU of ignoring public concerns. A
positive measure introduced by the Parliament is ‘biannual thematic reviews’
of primate and other research. These will be systematic assessments of the value
of various kinds of animal experiments, with a view to outlawing those judged to
be useless. The biannual thematic reviews must be supported. Please write to:
Meg Hillier Animal Scientific Procedures Division Home Office 4th Floor Seacole
2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF Email Meg Hillier at hillierm@parliament.uk
Elisabeth Jeggle Parlement européen Bât. Altiero Spinelli 10E209 60, rue
Wiertz / Wiertzstraat 60 B-1047 Bruxelles/Brussel Email Elisabeth Jeggle at
elisabeth.jeggle@europarl.europa.eu Nicotine
addiction study A
recent study documents the severe emotional trauma chimpanzees suffer
as a result
of laboratory use and confinement. Developmental Context Effects on Bicultural
Post-Trauma Self Repair in Chimpanzees was published in the Sept issue, Vol. 45
(5), of the American Psychological Association journal Developmental Psychology.
Says Dr. Capaldo, president of the New England Anti-Vivisection Society (NEAVS):
"A federal bill to end the use of chimpanzees in research (the Great Ape
Protection Act, H.R. 1326) has been introduced. Studies like ours expose the
reality of what it is like for approximately 1000 chimpanzees languishing in
U.S. labs. Chimpanzee research must stop if we are to end the suffering caused
by decisions - both scientifically flawed and ethically unjustifiable - to use
them as living test tubes." Billy Jo lived like a human child from infancy
to his teenage years when he was sent to a lab. He spent his next 14 years alone
in a 5'x5'x7' cage, enduring hundreds of procedures. He was rescued into
sanctuary at age 29 and died only 8 years later. Tom's family was killed in
Africa in order to capture him. He spent decades in 3 different labs undergoing
multiple procedures including 369 "knockdowns" - anaesthesia by dart
gun. Every morning, Tom gags uncontrollably - the result of repeated
intubations. Regis, born in a lab, was only 2 years old when he was treated for
his first stress-related injury - he had chewed his finger nail completely off.
Regis, fearful if left alone, suffers severe anxiety attacks in which he nearly
stops breathing. The chimpanzees' symptoms are consistent with traumatic stress,
depression, and other psychological conditions. Glaxo,
a multi-billion pound company, is
closing in Crawley and there’ll be cut backs in jobs at their Worthing
facility. This company has been forced in the USA to reveal e-mails between
itself and researchers about birth defect risks after a family sued it for the
death of their 1 year old son. They
also use dogs in tests for yet another blood pressure pill when there are loads
on the market. The list could go on
and on but………. They don’t
care about any life, just their huge profits. Good riddance to them and the
sooner they go the better. About
200 people turned out in Wickham for
the protest again the laboratory. For
the first time the police had closed the roads (as they always do for other
events) , so a loud and lively march left the car park for the village square,
just round the corner from the lab. There
were 3 speeches – from Sue (editor of this paper), André Menache and John
Curtin, who reminded us how Cartmell, the lab owner, had stolen dogs at the lab
in the past – and then we walked to the lab to lay a wreath and hold a 2 min
silence for the animals. Wickham was exposed for using mice in Botox tests when
a non-animal test exists. Controversial
plans to build a new animal testing laboratory in a rural village have been
unanimously rejected. Wickham Labs, currently based in Wickham, failed in its
latest bid to win permission for a purpose-built facility at Torbay Farm in
Lower Upham. More than 20 animal rights protesters turned up to stage a
demonstration outside the civic offices of Winchester City Council, where the
planning committee was holding its meeting. After 2½ hours the 10-member
committee voted unanimously against the officer's recommendation to accept the
proposals on the grounds that the building would be too large and its design
unsympathetic for the rural setting. The main proposed building was about 50m by
30m and 9½ metres high. Echoing many of his colleagues, Councillor Ian Tait
said: 'In an industrial estate or a business park this building would be fine
– but we aren't, we are in Upham.' Cllr Therese Evans, who represents Wickham
village, acknowledged that security wasn't their concern, but added that Upham,
in the Meon Valley, would not be a suitable place because of the attention the
labs would attract. She added: 'There was a demonstration a couple of weeks ago
where all the roads were closed and there were 130 police.' Afterwards, veteran
animal rights campaigner Helen Nelson said: 'We are absolutely delighted. We
have been working so hard towards getting this result, it's such a relief. I'm
sure they will try again – they're not going to give up. They think they can
trample over everyone and get their own way, but this proves they can't.' Moving
the operation to Torbay Farm has been a longheld ambition for owner William
Cartmell. Ray Botterell, representing the labs at the meeting, refused to
comment afterwards. A
6-month dispute between a biotech company and a university primate facility
it contracted
for a study on spinal cord injury has prompted a lawsuit. Cambridge-based
biotech InVivo Therapeutics filed suit against Oregon Health and Science
University (OHSU) with the US District Courts in Boston on Sept. 1st,
claiming the school's primate centre improperly cared for monkeys during the
study, resulting in the death of 4 animals and a premature end to the research.
InVivo is suing OHSU for not giving the monkeys proper post-surgical care, which
they say caused the routine bladder problems to become more serious issues. They
further charge OHSU with halting the experiment and euthanising the animals
against the company's wishes. When OHSU requested that InVivo pay the second
instalment of an agreed-upon fee, the company refused, citing "OHSU's
incompetence" and claiming it "had ruined the study, cost InVivo
hundreds of thousands of dollars, and jeopardized the future of the
company," according to the lawsuit. OHSU counters that all monkeys received
appropriate round-the-clock care after surgery and that it was InVivo who called
a halt to the surgeries. The InVivo lawsuit is not the first time the OHSU
primate centre has been accused of not providing proper care to their animals.
In 2008, PETA complaints about the centre spurred an investigation by the US
Dept of Agriculture (USDA), which handles violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
In Dec, USDA issued a warning letter for failure to provide proper veterinary
care, citing the death of a pregnant monkey after a researcher failed to notice
she was having a troubled labour, a sponge being left in a monkey after surgery,
and a surgery performed on the wrong monkey. Sean Kirtley free Replica
brain Court
orders Felix info to be released Belgian group challenges
primate experiments After
the Animal Liberation Press Office press release this week publicising the ALF action
against notorious primate importer Mathew Block and his wife Brooke, the New
Times in Broward/Palm Beach wrote an article reminding their readers of Block's
previous criminal conviction, 13-month sentence and $30,000 fine for smuggling
orangutans from Indonesia. Block, of course, trots out the same tired old
excuses, going so far as to claim he doesn't torture and kill the animals
himself in a laboratory, and therefore he is not a bad guy. More comments and
the original article are available here. http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/juice/2009/09/monkey_breeder_targeted_by_ani.php
Eye
irritation tests without rabbits Researchers
from the University of Leeds have
just released details of experiments on mice to test how “Obesity Can Lead to
Resistance to Insulin-Like Hormone”. At first this appears valid and
scientific, until the following is taken into account. Rodents used were what
the industry calls “Lean mice”, in other words they are genetically bred to
be overweight and thus related illnesses will no doubt affect them in some form.
However, this research conducted is a complete waste of life and funds that
could be put into other means of testing, ie developing and using in-vitro
(non-animal) methods. It has been known for a number of years that there is a
close correlation between diabetes and obesity, even down to what causes the
various factors of that relationship and how the disease can be prevented
through a controlled and healthy diet, not smoking etc and we do not need more
animal research to tell us this. Social studies can easily be conducted whereby
information is collected on people with diabetes, or related diseases, and the
‘inputs’ in their lives which are a cause of the disease can be analysed,
thus developing a positive correlation between lifestyle and diabetes. No doubt
this animal research would have been funded using public money. We need only
look back over the past few years and we find details of the University of Leeds
testing salt on beagle dogs to see the effects it has on their health. Low,
medium and high salt diets were fed to the dogs over a period of time; the end
result being that a high salt diet is bad for your health! Again, this research
was funded by public donations via the British Heart Foundation. In their Animal
Research Policy, Leeds University claim the following: * The University will use
alternatives to animals wherever possible, such as computer modelling, tissue
culture, cell and molecular biology, and research with human subjects… *
Research using animals is driving fundamental advances in understanding,
treating and curing a range of health problems including cancer, heart disease,
diabetes and mental illness, and continues to enable fundamental advances in our
understanding of diseases. If this is really the case, then why did the Ethics
Committee of the university approve the above 2 experiments to be conducted?
They could have been done using alternative means, ie looking at previous
research and using sociological studies, and are giving information already
known via countless others sources about diseases, not helping to cure them! 2
biology classes at UC Irvine will cease the use of lab rats,
according
to the OC Register. The university reasons that it can meet the “educational
objectives” without having to use rats as tools of demonstration for labs.
Despite the fact that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) claims
that they were a driving force in the university’s decision for change, UCI
Spokesman, Tom Vasich, begs to differ. In an email, Vasich stated that
“PETA had no involvement with UCI’s decision to evaluate the lab course …
but the information on alternatives provided by PETA was used during the
evaluation process.” Kathy Guillermo, Vice President of Laboratory
Investigations for PETA, said that at least 200 rats every year will now not
have to face the “fear and pain that resulted from these experiments.” She
also mentioned that students will be able to ascertain scientific information
using modern methods of experimentation that are being implemented as awareness
is broadened concerning the use of animals for testing. Charles
River Laboratories fatten up and then sell obese monkeys
for
medical research. Charles River Labs said that, with the nation crippled by an
obesity epidemic, its monkey business is increasingly necessary. In 30 out of 50
states, at least 25% of the population is obese, health experts say. As obesity
and its associated complications - such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes -
wreak havoc on the nation’s health, researchers are scrambling to create new
ways to treat obesity-related medical conditions. And because primates are such
close relatives to humans, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires that
all new drugs be tested on primates before they are marketed to the public.
Charles River Labs plans to sell its fattened-up monkeys to pharmaceutical
companies, academic research centres and biotechnology firms that will examine
“the metabolic changes associated with the onset and development of
diabetes” and other obesity-related diseases, the company has said. To prepare
the monkeys, Charles River Labs fed them a high-fat diet for 18 months. In that
time period, many of the monkeys developed glucose intolerance and a foundation
for what scientists say will become type 2, or adult-onset, diabetes. Is
animal experimentation still at the head of scientific development,
or is it time
to say goodbye to an archaic methodology? Animal experimentation is viewed by
most of today's modern scientists as misleading, expensive, and laborious. Large
and ever increasing numbers of scientists and doctors claim that animal
experimentation is not only ineffective but also counterproductive False
findings and toxic medications lead only to more pain and heart ache for the
families of the terminally ill individual. For when one assumes that the
findings in animals are directly correlated to those of human beings then one
need only look to the findings of recent discoveries showing accounts of vast
differences between animal and human trials of the same drug. An individual does
not need to be an animal activist to reason that animal experimentation has long
outgrown its usefulness. The thought that bone marrow from baboons into human
beings (in attempts to fight Leukaemia) has failed with costly consequences,
furthermore, interspecies organ transplantation has met just as dark fates
comparable to artificial organ transplantation and genetic manipulation. These
failures are synonymous with the failures and harmful treatments that have been
tried on humans due to a positive outcome of an animal test subject. An example
of such is how different an animal will react to a chemical than that of a human
individual. Genes may be similar amongst varying species, yet guinea pigs
reactions to strychnine is much the opposite from humans, The failures and
disinformation that can only be seen as a fault to the medical research
community is not only a research failure, but an economic failure as well, the
costs of funding these projects is staggering and only growing day by day. One
would suppose that with the rise in the health care budget we would see a
decrease of terminal diseases, but this is just not the case. Since Nixon's
launch of the "War on Cancer" 37 years ago, cancer rates have gone up
by 18% and cancer deaths have gone up by 7%. The
EU has found a way to limit animal deaths, limit spending, and still found a
cure for a common affliction. The Brussels team in May of 2003 found that when
inserting a drug that contained fever-causing agents (pyrogens) into human blood
cells opposed to rabbits they would still obtain the same affect. Using human
blood cells as an alternative to rabbits in finding cures, saves 200,000 rabbits
a year and millions of dollars. The Brussels research group claims to have a
better understanding of human immunology now than they did 20 years ago, which
will hopefully lead to the safer drugs for consumers due to the fact that they
are now testing these human cells as biosensors for pyrogens. The validation of
the human blood cell experiment is a first proof that testing can be done
without the sacrificing of funds and live beings. These experiments are a
stepping stone to the reduction if not the remission of animal testing and
experimentation. When most animal to human trials only obtain a little over a
50% success rate, one cannot say that animal experimentation is a viable school
of research. Sceptics and realists have longed looked at the cost analysis of
animal testing, the Machiavellian means meeting the ends argument, and every
time animal testing just seems to fall short of any real scientific goal. Edited
from Associated Content.
5 October 2009. Inferring Outcomes: Beneath the Fur of Animal Experimentation. www.associatedcontent.com/article/2225931/inferring_outcomes_beneath_the_fur.html SHAC
Campaign The
case has been dropped against a Sheffield IT worker who
was raided, arrested and had a computer server confiscated in Jan this
year. The server was apparently being used by Indymedia, and the police warrant
was to track down the poster of a comment on Manchester Indymedia giving the
home address of the judge involved in jailing some SHAC animal rights
defendants. Despite being told that Indymedia does not log the IP addresses of
any of its contributors, the cops nonetheless targeted this particular, albeit
arbitrary, server. The man running it didn't even have the passwords to access
the server, yet he was arrested under suspicion of offences including the rather
Orwellian 'encouraging or assisting an offence believing it will be committed'.
It marked the first recorded use of broad new powers granted by the Serious
Crime Act 2007. Novartis
CEO Daniel Vasella has
sent 140 animal rights activists letters warning them to back off. The letter
says “We strongly condemn the use of violence and terrorist tactics as a
substitute for meaningful, productive dialogue. As the author of the e-mail
received, you should be aware that willingly or not you are associating yourself
with criminal activity, such as extortion and blackmail.” But Vasella’s
strategy is doomed to failure if he cannot demonstrate what the company has
previously claimed: That Novartis has indeed severed its ties with Huntingdon
Life Sciences, the contract company that does often grisly drug tests on
animals. This is the key to the entire conflict. Even though Novartis has
previously said it no longer deals with HLS, the activists do not believe the
company. And those activists are far more numerous, and far more determined,
than Vasella is. As long as they believe Novartis tests at HLS, Vasella will be
a target no matter how angry he becomes. But being able to demonstrate that the
activists are wrong on the facts could be a game-changer. Even extremists need a
sympathetic political environment. The fact is that testing at HLS is …
unpleasant. Edited from Bnet.UK 5 Oct Court
orders USDA to disclose animal testing records Highate
Farm demo - Police
officers from 5 different forces were involved in the policing of around 300
activists demonstrating outside Highgate Farm near Normanby by Spital on Sat 26th
Oct, as part of the Global Week of Action against laboratory animal breeders.
Highgate Farm is a supplier of animals to the vivisection industry, including
Huntingdon Life Sciences. It also supplies rabbits to the meat trade. In Jan
2008, protesters broke into the farm and liberated around 130 rabbits. SHAC has
hailed the event a 'success', and said it brought the attention of local people
to the farm's 'immoral practices' and the 'start of an ongoing and growing
campaign to close them down for good'. Protesters were kept about 300 metres
from the farm entrance as police placed a perimeter of officers protecting the
private business. As demonstrators arrived police used a banner to announce the
implementation of the legislation. The road down to the farm was also closed and
campaigners used a shuttle minibus to get their supporters near to the farm
entrance. An ‘eye in the sky’ radio controlled device was used by the police
for film protesters as well as the FIT team on the ground.
What a pity they don’t use it to film illegal hunts!
Heard that police had approached local people saying that if they’d
been inconvenienced by the protest they could report it and the police could get
an injunction. They weren’t
interested. Villagers in Lincolnshire say they can’t get the police out when
they need them – but then they aren’t working for the vivisection industry! SPEAK
Campaign Police
efforts to silence dissent outside the Oxford animal testing lab have seen a
freelance journo and NUJ member, David Palmer, arrested at the regular demo
outside the lab, with all of his recording and camera equipment seized. Despite
the fact that the campaign to prevent the building of the lab on South Parks Rd,
Oxford was unsuccessful and the Thames Valley Police's promise to 'wage a dirty
war' against protesters was exposed - an injunction drafted by Timothy Lawson
Cruttenden controlling the protests is still in force.
David inadvertently wandered into an area prohibited under the terms of
the injunction. He was warned to leave by university staff and did so
immediately. But this wasn't enough for the cops however, who jumped on him
mob-handed and arrested him for harassment. 'I spent around 6 hours in a cell at
Oxford police station before being interviewed. During the course of the
interview, I was informed that my video camera and mobile phone were going to be
retained and that I'd be questioned about material found on them at a later
date. I pointed out to the interviewing officer (on tape) that such treatment of
a journalist was completely illegal; at this point the police tried to say my
press cards were fraudulent! I insisted the police ring the 24hr NUJ
verification number on the back of my press card, but they refused to do so and
said they'd ring the number the following morning and that I'd hear from them
after that.' David was not released from custody until shortly after midnight, 9
hours after his arrest. 15
animal rights protesters are suing police for
up to £250,000 after claiming they were treated illegally during a
demonstration outside Oxford University’s honorary degree ceremony. The
claimants, supporters of the Speak campaign group, have filed papers at the High
Court claiming “false imprisonment, breach of human rights, malicious
prosecution, assault and battery” over the protest in 2006. On June 21,
demonstrators gathered outside Oxford University’s Encaenia Day Ceremony to
oppose the building of the animal testing laboratory in South Parks Rd. 14
protesters were arrested and charged, but a trial at Bicester Magistrates’
Court in May 2007 cleared them of offences under Section 14 of the Public Order
Act. Charges against 2 others were dropped earlier. Protester Pauline
Broughton was found guilty of obstructing a police officer, while Fran Cornwell
was found guilty of assaulting an officer. Both were given absolute discharges
by District Judge Deborah Wright. During the trial, a tape recording of
unguarded comments made by police officers was played to the court in which they
used a swear word about the campaigners and said they would “prosecute the
s*** out of them”. In summing up, Ms Wright said: “I find the (Section
14) conditions were imposed unlawfully. “Whoever was responsible for
making the decision that this prosecution should proceed in light of the tape
may well have made a serious error of judgement.” She added: “Although the
(taped) conversations were made away from the public, all the officers were on
duty.” Among the claimants in the High Court case are Brett Gordon and Ruth
Undy, both of Woodman Court, East Oxford. The legal papers state Mr Gordon
“asked a police officer if he could leave (the demonstration) and meet his
wife who had been taken ill earlier in the protest but was told in no uncertain
terms that if he did so then he would be arrested. “He was at the back of the
march and was being pushed about aggressively by 2 police officers and
threatened with arrest.” The writ comes just days after Thames Valley
Police was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay £25,000 costs after call centre
worker Keith Tilbury was shot in the torso by PC Dave Micklethwaite in
Kidlington in May 2007. Thames Valley Deputy Chief Constable Francis Habgood
said the force was aware of the writ, but that it was inappropriate to comment
with legal proceedings active. However, at the time of the collapse of the
trial, his predecessor Alex Marshall said: “There are comments on the tape
that I find very regrettable and I find some of the comments unprofessional. I
will take careful note of what the judge has said and see if there are any
matters which arise from it.” I’ve
heard that the officer who made the comments has been promoted Neurosurgeon
refutes monkey model Marius
Maxwell is an American Board of Neurological Surgery-certified neurosurgeon who
was educated at Cambridge, Oxford, and Harvard universities. He has written an
article about deep brain stimulation and Parkinsons disease, refuting the
argument that experiments with monkeys has brought about this ‘wonder’
technique. You can read the full article at: www.vero.org.uk/mariusmaxwell.pdf
as it’s too long to reproduce here. Some
important extracts: This claim (using primates) is a clear misrepresentation of
the historical record which actually shows that neurosurgical experimentation
with … human patients, performed decades before the very first description of
the MPTP-primate model, has alone led to the present treatment of deep brain
stimulation in Parkinson's disease. ……
one can only conclude that primate vivisection has amounted to an expensive,
savagely cruel, and scientifically invalid sideshow. The "official"
and highly selective primate vivisection-based narrative of deep brain
stimulation misleadingly begins with the serendipitous discovery of symptoms in
young drug addicts exposed to the narcotic contaminant MPTP. This gave
researchers the idea of seeing whether monkeys would also display Parkinsonian
symptoms in response to this toxin and indeed, in 1983 monkeys poisoned with
MPTP were found to exhibit similar, albeit temporary, symptoms and the non-human
primate model of parkinsonism was born (Burns et al. 1983). ……the
discovery that the implantation of stimulating electrodes in the subthalamic
nucleus of humans with Parkinson's reversed many of the disease's most crippling
symptoms (Benabid 1987; Limousin 1995). In this way, we are repeatedly told,
deep brain stimulation was created by the endeavours of monkey researchers. The
general public is served a compelling tale of successful medical research borne
on the back of primate misery….. But what will they say when they find out
that the importance of the subthalamic nucleus to the treatment of Parkinson's
disease had in fact been known more than 30 years before by neurosurgeons who
employed this knowledge to successfully treat hundreds of human patients? How
will they react when they discover that deep brain stimulation has been used
since the 1940s, and that early implanted stimulators were used in human
patients with Parkinson's and other movement disorders years before the first
ever description of the MPTP-primate model? Hundreds of monkeys have been
experimented on, countless "peer-reviewed" articles have been written,
and a vast archive of monkey "data" has been accumulated….. but deep
brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease developed without this. Benabid,
knowing of the importance of the subthalamic nucleus to Parkinson's disease from
the surgical studies of 1963 and subsequently, together with the more recent
data of deep brain stimulation in patients with Parkinson's disease and other
movement disorders, took the logical …. next
step by reporting the benefit of stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus in 1995
in a series of patients (Limousin et al.1995). The oft-parroted claim that
"the MPTP monkey model demonstrated the pivotal role of the subthalamic
nucleus in the mechanisms central to Parkinson's disease" is therefore
clearly false. Furthermore, it does a grave disservice to the memory of the many
real pioneers of neurosurgery by co-opting their repeated demonstration of the
very same, decades before. It is as if they have been quietly airbrushed from
the pages of history. Most importantly, the rapid and reversible MPTP-induced
parkinsonian state in monkeys bears little relation to the slowly progressive
and irreversible Parkinson's disease, which is unique to humans. None other than
the late Nobel Laureate Francis Crick was also a harsh critic of the
experimental use of primates in the neurosciences. Crick argued for the
development of new and forward-looking techniques to study the human brain.
Persistent support for the non-human primate MPTP model of Parkinson's can only
serve further to neglect and impoverish the demonstrably scientific and
productive avenues of the clinical neurosciences…….. The predictable
consequences of maintaining the status quo will be further obfuscation and delay
in the discovery of a definitive treatment for Parkinson's disease. Tests flawed and duplicated
- At this year's British Association Festival of
Science a report from the Camarades Collaboration that reviewed 288 animal
studies of prospective treatments for stroke concluded that many animal
experiments are flawed. The report found that animal studies frequently do not
use experimental techniques that are the "gold standard" for clinical
trials. For example, only 1/3 of the studies randomised which animals went into
the treatment and control groups. And in only 1/3 of cases were the
experimenters who assessed the experimental outcome blinded to whether each
animal had been given the treatment or not - a well known source of unconscious
bias. Another problem highlighted by the EU's Science and Research Commissioner
Janez Potocnik today is that too often the same tests are duplicated -
particularly by companies not willing to share data. Cancer
research wasted – together with animal lives
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The Shoreham Protester, 7 Stoneham Road, Hove, BN3 5HJ, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 (0)1273 885750. Email: shoreham.protester@ntlworld.com Last Updated 13 December 2008 |
