News Archive
EU Shouldn't Kill Our Closest Relatives
In the cover story of the March's edition of the EU political
magazine, 'Parliament,' none other than the Vice-President of the European
Parliament, David Martin, MEP (PES UK) put forward a well argued case
for an immediate ban on the use of primates in laboratory experiments.
He referred to recent reports that the DNA of chimpanzees is 98.5% similar
to that of humans, and that this makes stronger the ethical reasons for
doing so; and that the New Zealand Government is considering extending
certain fundamantal rights to great apes in light of this.
Reference is also made to last year's report by the European Coalition
to End Animal Experiments which 'contained shocking facts about primate
experimentation.' Around 10, 000 non-human primates are used for scientific
experiments in the EU each year. Furthermore, the use of primates has
been increasing in the EU 'a worrying trend that conflicts with the general
trend of declining levels of animal experimentation. Indeed - despite
the 50% reduction target contained in the Fifth Environmental Action Programme
- only Sweden had seen a clear reduction in numbers of primates used.'
One reason for this increase is the emergence of diseases like AIDS and
BSE, which scientists say 'necessitates' primate studies. Mr Martin wonders
if 'we' have been panicked through fear of these diseases into accepting
primate experiments without ' taking full account of animal ethics and
suffering, as well as critically evaluating possible future medical use
of the research.' Poor 'cost-benefit analysis' by those 'regulating' animal
experiments? - surely not!
He further points out what has been revealed by recent publications of
scientific research - that chimpanzees are a poor 'models' for humans
in AIDS research (and this a species that shares 98.5% of their DNA with
humans!!). 'It has been demonstrated that HIV is transmitted and spread
in a different way in chimpanzees and humans, and the typical progression
of the disease and symptoms found in humans cannot be triggered in chimps
(HIV does not develop into full-blown AIDS). Meanwhile, thousands of chimps
are in HIV infected and living in solitary isolation; and possible vaccines
are being tested straightaway on humans (because of doubts about tests
on chimps resulting in any meaningful data).
Mr Martin further catalogues the moral and compassionate bankruptcy of
modern scientific research with such creatures. Primates are infected
with BSE by direct injection into the brain - innaccurate models causing
untold suffering - despite the fact that we already know BSE can cross
the 'species barrier'; and the abundant epidemiological evidence that
CJD comes from BSE. Most primates used in resaerch are captured in the
wild, transported for over 50 hours in small crates as cargo on passenger
airlines (Hansard: UK House of Commons), and then kept in 'barren cages
so small that they can barely stand - and many are kept in isolation,
unable to make any social contact with their own species.'
The stress and suffering of these animals is inconceivable and yet is
allowed in the name of scientific research. Surely anyone can see: this
is too big a price.
The current regulatory framework for the use of primates in scientific
research in the EU is over ten years old and permits these highly developed
social animals to be caught in the wild, brought over from China or Indonesia,
kept in atrocious conditions, and used in horrific experiments. Failure
by the recipient of wild-caught endangered species to meet the housing
requirements (that they are kept in a manner appropriate to their species)
does not result in the refusal of permits for research.
However, change may be on the way. Mr Martin reports that 'The European
Commission and Member States have already recognised the ethical importance
of this particular area of animal experimentation and have been working
to draft a Community policy statement on the use of primates os laboratory
animals.' He expresses concern that early versions appeared 'weak' and
that there was a delay in involving the Parliament, but now the Commission
is 'looking into this in greater depth and has pledged to bring there
proposals to the Parliament.'
Mr Martin calls for an end to this particular case of animal abuse. We
hope that, with his weight behind it, the use of primates in laboratory
experiments will soon be outlawed in the EU - and that the ethical and
scientific reasoning behind such a ban will then be logically applied
to all animal experiments.
ACTION: Write to your MEP asking her/him to actively support calls for
a ban on the use of primates in laboratory animals. The European Elections
are fast approaching - vote for a candidate who will pledge to support
a ban (eg the Green Party).
Max Newton, Uncaged Campaigns 07.04.99
Space Monkeys Row
Nasa and the Bion (Institute of Biomedical Studies - Russia)
want to send macaque monkeys back into space in order to 'fathom the consequences
of spending several years in space, as Mars-bound crews would need to.'
Russia has put six teams of two monkeys into orbit in previous missions.
On the most recent, Bion-11, was to find out how two weeks in space changed
muscle and bone structure. US animal rights groups (including Peta - USA)
campaigned against this cruel programme. In January 1997, one of the monkeys
died soon after parachuting to earth (unlike early missions where dogs
and monkeys were left to drift and starve to death in space). Bion blamed
Nasa interference; the latter withdrew from the programme under pressure
from animal rights activists and luminaries like Oliver Stone.
The full extent of the suffering involved in sending monkeys into space
is shocking. They are bound into bucket seats, fed through a metal nozzle,
have tiny electrodes inserted in their brains through holes in their skulls.
The scientists are pleased to explain that new capsules have been designed
to fly higher and longer (so the monkeys can endure more suffering). The
spokesperson for Bion explained why they needed to send monkeys out of
the earth's atmosphere: 'We can't put electrodes in a human brain. The
cosmonauts wouldn't agree to it.' Really?! But the monkeys did presumably..?!
Yet both Nasa and Bion want to resume exposing non-human primates to
this suffering, and insist it is essential in order to fully understand
whet happens to the human body under weightless conditions. Such experiments
are surely a waste of time. Nasa has 40 years of clinical and epidemiological
studies on astronauts. The database from such studies (which Nasa always
insists is why they keep spending billions of dollars sending people into
orbit) is surely more valuable than what they could learn from stressed-out
animals in space.
Once again we see scientists quite literally on a different planet when
it comes to having compassion for non-human species, and any understanding
of basic ethics.
Max Newton, Uncaged Campaigns 07.04.99
The Mad World of Modern Science
There were two extreme instances of weird science last month.
1) Scientists have been investigating what genes make a leg instead
of an arm. In the past ten years geneticists have isolated several genes
that build arms, legs or wings - but have failed to discover why obvious
differences arise. Cliff Tabin of Harvard Medical School in Boston explained
(sic!) 'If you order chicken wings in a restaurant, you're not going to
confuse them.' !!??
Now geneticists have found genes that are selectively expressed depending
on the type of limb required. So they used viruses to carry copies of
the genes into one developing wing of chicken embryos. They found that
the Pitx1 gene switched on the other leg-specific gene (and presumably
a leg-structure was formed). The scientists decided to see what would
happen if the gene which switches on the wing-genes was present. They
managed to grow a chicken where 'the entire limb muscle structure became
more like that of a drumstick, with a claw...'
This was widely publicised in all parts of the media, and great excitement
was aroused by the idea of 'three legged chickens' being available for
a carnivorous Sunday lunch. No attention was paid to the suffering caused
to the chickens involved, or to any proposed benefits for modern medicine
- how were such experiments justified to the 'regulatory bodies'..?!
2) The Italian Doctor who helped a 62 year-old woman have a baby revealed
that he used dead mice to incubate human sperm. Severino Antinori said
he took immature sperm from husbands, who were unable to father children,
and placed them in dead mice to mature before transplanting them into
the wives!
Well, it's a relief to know that our scientists and doctors are sensitive
to the ethical issues.
Max Newton, Uncaged Campaigns 07.04.99
'Sadist' Defence Ministry
Live goats are being crushed to death in secret military experiments,
it emerged last week.
In the past five years over 700 goats have been blasted out of mocked-up
submarines to study the effects of decompression on sailors who use escape
hatches. A total of sixteen goats have been killed outright (in horrific
circumstances); while others have later been killed in experiments that
have been branded as 'sadistic, cruel and unnecessary' by both animal
rights groups like Uncaged Campaigns and Liberal Democrat defence spokesperson
Mike Hancock.
On hearing that these tests had Whitehall backing Mr Hancock pointed
out:
"That doesnt give us as a society a license to be cruel. It
says we can carry out an experiment. The harmful effects of suddenly
rising to the surface have been known for the best part of a century.
I cannot believe there is an argument for these experiments."
The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) part of the Ministry
of Defence claimed: "This research is to protect human life. Animals
which experience decompression sickness get the same therapy as a diver.
The vast majority make a complete recovery."
However, we have learned not to believe anything that emanates from those
quarters about animal experiments after the secrecy and misinformation
surrounding last years revelations about British involvement in 'Operation
Danish Bacon.' Clearly animals have been suffering extreme pain, suffering
distress and death as a result of these experiments. The effects of rapid
decompression are well known, and have been for a number of years. These
tests are clearly cruel and totally unnecessary, yet they passed what
we are constantly being told by Government is the 'rigorous examination'
of the Animal Procedures Committee.
Max Newton, Uncaged Camapaigns 07.04.99
|
