Toxicity tests mandated by EU law subject animals to extreme suffering: New, shocking undercover footage documents the cruel daily reality in animal testing laboratories. The German Animal Welfare Federation, together with other European animal welfare organizations, is calling for an urgently needed shift toward science free of animal testing.
“The footage shows the extreme suffering the animals must endure during the experiments and their fear as they await the torment to come. Even if animals survive this torture, they are ultimately killed,” explains Kristina Wagner, head of the Department for Animal-Free Science at the German Animal Welfare Federation.
The newly released video and photographic material from Animals Australia, a partner organization of the German Animal Welfare Federation, shows typical toxicity tests conducted in a laboratory in the United Kingdom on behalf of European clients. These tests examine how toxic pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, pesticides, and food additives are, and at what concentrations they cause suffering, disease, or even death. For these experiments, countless animals—including rats, rabbits, dogs, pigs, and non-human primates—are restrained and administered potentially toxic substances via injection, forced inhalation, force-feeding, or skin contact. The doses used are about a hundred times higher than those to which humans would likely be exposed. Even lab staff who speak in the video footage criticize the unbearable cruelty of the tests.
EU LEGISLATION CONTINUES TO REQUIRE TESTING
In contrast to animal testing for cosmetics and detergents, which is now banned, the EU continues to legally mandate toxicity tests for the safety assessment of other chemicals. “The supposed safety of substances and active ingredients is still being bought at the cost of massive animal suffering. Yet progress and consumer protection do not preclude animal welfare. The EU and its member states must amend the laws and accelerate the transition to animal-free, humane science. To this end, the ‘Roadmap’ published by the EU for phasing out all animal testing in chemical testing should be implemented as a matter of high priority,” demands Jürgen Plinz, member of the Executive Board of the German Animal Welfare Federation and board member of the European animal welfare umbrella organization Eurogroup for Animals. EU citizens can support this call by signing the accompanying petition on the website toxicity.inc.de and sending a letter to decision-makers at the EU level.
Note to editors: Further information and the petition can be found here: toxicity.inc/de.
Visuals: Footage and photos are available for download at the following link: www.animalsinternational.org/media/animals-used-in-toxicity-testing. No copyright attribution is required.
