Most of the drug testing in the lab sees dogs repeatedly force-fed or forced to inhale substances for up to three months to measure the effects on their organs and nervous system.
NADA FARHOUD: Trolleys of dead farmed dogs in plastic bags are wheeled out from a testing lab, in new footage obtained by campaigners. In another clip, a van arrives at Labcorp in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, showing workers dressed in full chemical protective clothing. As a second laboratory door opens, dogs can be heard inside the lab whimpering… The new footage comes comes weeks after protests outside MBR Acres, in Cambridgeshire believed to be the biggest beagle farm in Britain for animal testing.
Each year thousands of dogs are bred at these farms for “painful toxicity” experiments conducted in labs across the UK including Labcorp, campaigners say. Commonly they leave at 16-weeks-old. Many dogs are killed at the end of the experiments. Many dogs are killed at the end of the experiments, according to animal welfare charities… In June the Mirror revealed footage, also obtained by the group Free the MBR Acres Beagle, which showed workers piling dogs into overcrowded trolleys, some by the scruffs of their necks. Other dogs could be heard whimpering in crates as they are loaded into lorries for transportation…
UK law requires all new medicines to be tested on two live mammals, one of which must be a large non-rodent, before a potential new drug is tried on humans… Latest figures show dogs were used in 4,227 experiments in 2019. Beagles were used for 96% of them. Beagles are often used for repeat-dose toxicity testing, which typically involves giving a dog a daily low dose of a candidate drug for several weeks. It will then be killed and its organs examined for damage.
People for the Ethical Treatment on Animals says most of the drug testing sees dogs repeatedly force-fed or forced to inhale substances for up to three months to measure the effects on their organs and nervous system… Actor Peter Egan, who is part of a campaign to ban testing on dogs said they “suffer with no pain relief or anaesthetic.” He said: “The machine-like conveyor belt delivers man’s best friend into a toxicity testing laboratory. “Inside the lab, dogs endure experiments that can involve being force-fed chemicals for up to 90 days”…
The actor Ricky Gervais, 60, is among those who have called for the farm, owned by the American company Marshall BioResources, to close. They are also calling for all laboratory animals to be included under the protection of the Animal Welfare Act, and its ‘unnecessary suffering’ clause… Peter Egan… added: “I’m deeply shocked to learn that laboratory animals are excluded from the Animal Welfare Act, and the protection of its ‘unnecessary suffering’ clause”… He called for Early Day Motion (EDM) calling for the hearing ”to end the failed practice of animal experiments” which has been tabled by MP Lisa Cameron.
Renowned primatologist Jane Goodall has also backed the idea. Ricky Gervais added: “ It’s heartbreaking to hear these puppies crying out for mercy and help, from inside the lab. “We need an immediate ban on this shocking animal cruelty, which is also clearly holding back medical progress. That’s why I support a rigorous public science hearing on animal testing, judged by independent experts from the relevant science fields”. SOURCE…
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