Dogs being flown to Charles River Labs, Edinburgh to be experimented on and killed

Over half a million animals suffer and die every year in experiments all over Scotland ... and you're paying for most of them

Scotland's a major player in the vivisection industry with animals abused in universities in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen, and private research centres such as Organon near Glasgow and Charles River Laboratories in Edinburgh. There are numerous smaller testing sites around the country.

68% of all experiments are conducted without any anaesthetic.

Huge Government grants and subsidies provided by charities such as the British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK are funding brutality towards animals right now. But an increasing number of doctors, medical professionals and scientists are speaking out against vivisection saying it's hampering the discovery of treatments and cures and is encouraged by drug firms in order to protect profits not lives.

When contacted by Scotland for Animals in an appeal for action on this situation all but one MSP who replied stated their full support for the use of animals in experiments.

Here are just a few facts about vivisection:-

Approximately 95% of drugs created using animals are immediately discarded as useless or dangerous to humans. Between 30-50% of those that make it onto the market cause serious side effects in patients. (1)

The results from animal experiments can be altered by factors such as diet and bedding. Bedding has been identified as giving cancer rates of over 90% and almost nil in the same strain of mice at different locations. (2)

At least 450 methods exist with which we can replace animal experiments. (4)

Despite decades of experiments, millions of dead animals and billions of pound poured into researchers bank accounts people are still suffering and dying from disease and illness Scotland still has some of the worst rates of cancer, heart disease and stroke on earth.

Some researchers support the use of animals through an institutional unwillingness to change and sometimes downright laziness, more often it's because it's easier to obtain funding by using animals as when it boils down the vivisection industry is all about hard cash.

In a letter to Scotland for Animals one of Scotland's top scientists has tried to justify his own use of animals in experimenation by claiming if anybody uses non-animal methods "you need to talk to lawyers who will sue if a treatment has a side effect that could possibly have been predicted from animal studies". The use of the word "possibly" here is also interesting.

Scotland could be a world leader in non-animal research benefitting our nations health, creating jobs and also preventing the suffering and death of millions of animals. For information on real research from Scientists and medical professionals go to www.safermedicines.org

It's time for change.

*References

1) SmithKline Beecham Internal report.

2) Professor Pietro Croce Vivisection or Science, p43.

3) F. J. Di Carlo, 'Drug Metabolism Reviews' 15, pp409-13

4) Professor Pietro Croce, Vivisection or Science, p22-24.

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