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Global day for animals used in lab testing
By Tan Weiyun |
April 20, 2012, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ANTIBIOTICS, vaccines for polio, organ transplant and HIV/AIDS treatments are all medical milestones that have indisputably made life better and saved millions of lives. But all these advances and countless others were developed using animals.
The latest eye shadow and other cosmetics, non-irritating detergents and industrial chemicals are also developed with animal testing.
The lab animal issue is a difficult and contentious one and has drawn attention worldwide.
It also has received attention in China in recent years as more people are concerned about animals rights.
China has no animal welfare laws prohibiting cruelty to animals, but there are standards (1986 and 2006) for humane treatment of lab animals, though these are difficult to enforce.
Animal testing to develop cosmetics is not banned.
Next Tuesday is World Day for Laboratory Animals, commemorating millions of animals who contributed to pure science, medicine, industry, fashion and the cosmetics industry.
It's also a day of action to protest the use of live animals for experiments - from lab rats, cats and dogs to cattle and primates.
Thousands of activists worldwide are campaigning to raise awareness and demand an end to experimentation with animals, though there are few effective alternatives.
Reliable estimates of animal numbers are difficult to obtain. The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection estimates that 100 million vertebrates, from zebra fish to nonhuman primates, are used in experiments every year, 10 to 11 million in the European Union. This doesn't include mice, rats, frogs and animals not yet weaned.
There are no reliable figures for China where specially bred animals are used extensively for research. Some data indicate around 16 million vertebrates were used in 2006.
Three Rs principle
The three Rs are principles for lab animal welfare proposed by microbiologist RL Burch and zoologist W.M.S Russel in 1959. They are "reduction, refinement and replacement" and scientists are encouraged to follow them.
* Reduce the number of animals by improving experimental techniques and increasing information sharing among researchers.
* Refine experiments and treatment to reduce suffering; use less invasive techniques, improve care and living conditions.
* Replace experiments on live animals with alternative testing where possible.
"But the three Rs ... suggests general acquiescence in animal experimentation," says a statement by Animal Rights in China (ARC), set up in 2006 by over 3,000 campaigners who have been urging the use of alternatives.
The alternatives activists advocate include using cell cultures instead of whole animals, using phototoxicity tests on chemicals to predict their effects on humans, using computer models, epidemiological studies, magnetic resonance imaging, studying human volunteers and working on isolated tissues.
These approaches can be useful but they can't provide the answers that animal research can.
"Animal experimentation is a basic, very important method in life science study and biomedical research and in some specific fields, it is irreplaceable," says Yang Fei, deputy director of the Animal Experimentation Department of Fudan University and deputy secretary general of Shanghai Animal Experimentation Society. Yang has worked on regulating and standardizing animal testing for over 15 years.
He says testing on primates is still necessary because their immune system is very similar to that of humans. They are needed to develop drugs for malaria, HIV/AIDS and infections such as SARS, he says, though admitting the approach is not perfect.
Animal rights campaigners say extensive primate testing has failed to produce viable vaccines or treatments for AIDS, Parkinson's disease, stroke and other life-threatening conditions.
"Medical science is advancing and so are diseases and viruses. Animal experimentation has limitations, of course. But can we just deny its value for this reason? Every science has its limitation. Should we call for a ban on each of them? This kind of logic is ridiculous," Yang says.
Not whether but how
"It is not a matter of whether the experiments should be done; it's a matter of how - in a serious, ethical and scientific way," Yang says.
In the past, and to some extent today, some experimentation has been gruesome. Many improved and painless techniques have been developed.
Animals are used for testing mainly in universities, medical schools, pharmaceutical companies, farms and commercial facilities that provide animal-testing services to industry. "Even Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine is doing tests on animals," Yang says.
Most animals are purpose-bred by designated pharmaceutical companies. There are two large commercial breeding facilities in the Shanghai suburbs.
"I've inspected some farms, and from what I observed, living conditions are good," says Zhang Yi, director of the Shanghai Animal Protection Association.
Standards call for cages large enough so that animals can move around naturally. They may receive toys and entertaining activities. Primates, dogs and pigs that like to run around should have play areas. Food, clean water and hygiene standards are set.
Euthanasia is used on lab animals, but not on primates unless they suffer serious disease, according to the regulations issued on 2006. They generally live until they die naturally.
In the labs of the Fudan University Medical School, animals receive toys and amusing activities, have a pleasant environment, nutritious food and sufficient living space. Comfortable living conditions mean less-stressed animals and more reliable test results.
A giant monument commemorating lab animals was built in 2007 at the Shanghai University of TCM, a joint effort by all the city's medical schools and research institutions. Every year on Tomb Sweeping Day (Qingming Festival), many people visit.
The latest eye shadow and other cosmetics, non-irritating detergents and industrial chemicals are also developed with animal testing.
The lab animal issue is a difficult and contentious one and has drawn attention worldwide.
It also has received attention in China in recent years as more people are concerned about animals rights.
China has no animal welfare laws prohibiting cruelty to animals, but there are standards (1986 and 2006) for humane treatment of lab animals, though these are difficult to enforce.
Animal testing to develop cosmetics is not banned.
Next Tuesday is World Day for Laboratory Animals, commemorating millions of animals who contributed to pure science, medicine, industry, fashion and the cosmetics industry.
It's also a day of action to protest the use of live animals for experiments - from lab rats, cats and dogs to cattle and primates.
Thousands of activists worldwide are campaigning to raise awareness and demand an end to experimentation with animals, though there are few effective alternatives.
Reliable estimates of animal numbers are difficult to obtain. The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection estimates that 100 million vertebrates, from zebra fish to nonhuman primates, are used in experiments every year, 10 to 11 million in the European Union. This doesn't include mice, rats, frogs and animals not yet weaned.
There are no reliable figures for China where specially bred animals are used extensively for research. Some data indicate around 16 million vertebrates were used in 2006.
Three Rs principle
The three Rs are principles for lab animal welfare proposed by microbiologist RL Burch and zoologist W.M.S Russel in 1959. They are "reduction, refinement and replacement" and scientists are encouraged to follow them.
* Reduce the number of animals by improving experimental techniques and increasing information sharing among researchers.
* Refine experiments and treatment to reduce suffering; use less invasive techniques, improve care and living conditions.
* Replace experiments on live animals with alternative testing where possible.
"But the three Rs ... suggests general acquiescence in animal experimentation," says a statement by Animal Rights in China (ARC), set up in 2006 by over 3,000 campaigners who have been urging the use of alternatives.
The alternatives activists advocate include using cell cultures instead of whole animals, using phototoxicity tests on chemicals to predict their effects on humans, using computer models, epidemiological studies, magnetic resonance imaging, studying human volunteers and working on isolated tissues.
These approaches can be useful but they can't provide the answers that animal research can.
"Animal experimentation is a basic, very important method in life science study and biomedical research and in some specific fields, it is irreplaceable," says Yang Fei, deputy director of the Animal Experimentation Department of Fudan University and deputy secretary general of Shanghai Animal Experimentation Society. Yang has worked on regulating and standardizing animal testing for over 15 years.
He says testing on primates is still necessary because their immune system is very similar to that of humans. They are needed to develop drugs for malaria, HIV/AIDS and infections such as SARS, he says, though admitting the approach is not perfect.
Animal rights campaigners say extensive primate testing has failed to produce viable vaccines or treatments for AIDS, Parkinson's disease, stroke and other life-threatening conditions.
"Medical science is advancing and so are diseases and viruses. Animal experimentation has limitations, of course. But can we just deny its value for this reason? Every science has its limitation. Should we call for a ban on each of them? This kind of logic is ridiculous," Yang says.
Not whether but how
"It is not a matter of whether the experiments should be done; it's a matter of how - in a serious, ethical and scientific way," Yang says.
In the past, and to some extent today, some experimentation has been gruesome. Many improved and painless techniques have been developed.
Animals are used for testing mainly in universities, medical schools, pharmaceutical companies, farms and commercial facilities that provide animal-testing services to industry. "Even Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine is doing tests on animals," Yang says.
Most animals are purpose-bred by designated pharmaceutical companies. There are two large commercial breeding facilities in the Shanghai suburbs.
"I've inspected some farms, and from what I observed, living conditions are good," says Zhang Yi, director of the Shanghai Animal Protection Association.
Standards call for cages large enough so that animals can move around naturally. They may receive toys and entertaining activities. Primates, dogs and pigs that like to run around should have play areas. Food, clean water and hygiene standards are set.
Euthanasia is used on lab animals, but not on primates unless they suffer serious disease, according to the regulations issued on 2006. They generally live until they die naturally.
In the labs of the Fudan University Medical School, animals receive toys and amusing activities, have a pleasant environment, nutritious food and sufficient living space. Comfortable living conditions mean less-stressed animals and more reliable test results.
A giant monument commemorating lab animals was built in 2007 at the Shanghai University of TCM, a joint effort by all the city's medical schools and research institutions. Every year on Tomb Sweeping Day (Qingming Festival), many people visit.
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