Volkswagen’s reputation was tarnished by the revelation that it had financed research on the health effects of diesel exhaust that involved spewing it at 10 macaque monkeys in airtight chambers.
PRASHANT S. RAO: ‘The German automaker Volkswagen is promising that it will no longer support the use of animals in testing the effects of diesel exhaust, as the company tries to move past an emissions-cheating scandal in which it was found to have helped finance experiments on monkeys. The pledge was made in a letter to the German branch of the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals… Volkswagen’s reputation was… tarnished by the revelation that it and other German automakers had financed research on the health effects of diesel exhaust that involved spewing it at 10 macaque monkeys in airtight chambers. The disclosure touched off an uproar, piling pressure on Volkswagen and the other companies…
Herbert Diess, the carmaker’s chief executive, questioned the ethical decision to conduct experiments on primates, even though he maintained that the studies, which were carried out in the United States, did not violate local laws… PETA welcomed the latest development. “Volkswagen did the right thing in pledging to no longer conduct tests on animals, which are irrelevant to human health and not required by law,” said Kathy Guillermo, a senior vice president at the group. “PETA is calling on other carmakers that still test on animals to follow suit and embrace modern and humane, animal-free research methods instead”.’ SOURCE…
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