What's Wrong With HLS?
Huntingdon Life Sciences is one of the world's largest contract-testing facilities, which means they are paid by other companies to test their products. They have facilities in the US (New Jersey) under the name Life Sciences Research and two in England (Europe's largest). HLS has been caught in seven undercover investigations committing blatant other-than-human animal abuse such as violently shaking and punching four-month-old beagle puppies in the face on tape. Employees accidentally transplanted a frozen pig's heart into a baboon without thawing it out first. During their xenotransplantation experiments, they breached the Good Laboratory Practices guidelines 520 times. They have lost other-than-human animals, including a baboon, on site for days. Their own records show that technicians were seen drunk, on drugs, and trying sell illegal drugs at work, but were never fired. They have been exposed falsifying scientific data and breaking animal welfare laws. These investigations have resulted in HLS employees being convicted of other-than-human animal cruelty, fined by the USDA and almost shut down by the UK government. One technician, Brian Crane actually cut out the eyes of a beagle puppy and sent it to his girlfriend with a note stating, “ I only have eyes for you”. On a separate occasion, a technician from HLS cut out the heart of a beagle puppy and sent it to his girlfriend for Valentine ’s Day. Coincidence? I think not! HLS attracts these types of heartless monsters that commit such heinous crimes. This is why, activists world-wide are campaigning to finish the job and shut them down for good. Tell me, who are the real terrorists?
It doesn't end there.
Researchers have admitted that animal research is "only reliable 5-25% of the time." A worker, once questioned on the correctness of a procedure, replied "Nope. Not supposed to, never saw it, never did it, can't prove it." They have described other-than-human animals in their care as "rotting, but still alive." To be concise, we have decided not to list all of their many transgressions. Right now there are 70,000 other-than-human animals imprisoned inside the walls of Huntingdon Life Sciences. These include dogs, cats, monkeys, birds, rabbits, fish, mice and farm animals. These experiments are often done by forcing a tube down the animal's throat and pouring chemicals into the stomach of the victim. Technicians are told not to play with the other-than-human animals, because it is "a waste of time." All the animals used and mistreated in the barbaric experiments at HLS will die at the end of their miserable lives, alone and in their own congealed blood, feces, and vomit.
But isn't this "life-saving research?"
HLS' areas of research include testing the toxicity of pesticides, herbicides, food colorings, household products, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Other-than-human animals die so that we can have a sweeter coffee sweetener, a better tanning lotion, or tooth paste.
Everyday, 500 other-than-human animals are tortured and killed in the labs of Huntingdon Life Sciences and their U.S. facility, Life Sciences Research. Activists from around the world vowed to shut HLS down, and in 2005, HLS is on the edge of financial collapse. Let's finish them off!
What about other-than-human animal testing for “life-saving research?”
Researchers claim that they must be allowed unfettered access to other-than-human animals for experiments in order to find cures for human diseases, yet they refuse to address the serious ethical problems of torturing sentient creatures for research purposes. On top of that, over-reliance on other-than-human animal experimentation has historically hindered scientific advancement and endangered human safety because results from other-than-human animal research typically cannot be applied to humans. In fact, scientists could save more human lives by using humane research and testing methods that are more accurate and efficient without experimenting, torturing, mutilating other-than-human animals!
Animal experiments are cruel and unreliable. Remember that every drug or product that is withdrawn because of serious side effects, every pesticide that proves to be carsonogenic, every "new and improved" household product that we don't need, Huntingdon will have forced that product down the throats of thousands of animals and then passed them as "safe" just for it later to on on to maim, harm and kill humans. At least 50 drugs on the market cause cancer in lab animals. These "failed" drugs are allowed on to the market because it is admitted that animal tests are not relevent to humans.Doesn’t the end justify the means?
Just as unethical experimentation on a group of humans. cannot be justified by a benefit to humanity at large, the same holds true for animal experimentation. Like humans, other-than-human animals are sentient beings with interests in their own lives and freedom. To treat them differently and say that experimentation on other-than-human animals is justified but experimentation on humans. is not would be speciesist.
Does ending vivisection mean ending medical progress?
Ending vivisection would not end medical progress, because other research would continue. There are so many medical issues that go unexplored because of lack of resources, if we took all the resources that go into other-than-human animal research and redirected them towards alternatives to other-than-human animal research, we would continue to make medical progress. Some examples of the types of research that would still continue include human cell and tissue cultures, epidemiological studies, and ethical human experimentation with fully informed consent.
Alternatives: Besides saving countless lives, alternatives to animal tests are efficient and reliable. Forward thinking companies are exploring modern alternatives. For example, Pharmagene Laboratories, based in Royston, England, is the first company to use only human tissues and sophisticated computer technologies in the process of drug development and testing.What kinds of medical advances were made without vivisection?
The cause and cure for scurvy were discovered without using animals, with studies done on human subjects who already had scurvy. The first vaccine was invented in the 18th century without other-than-human animal experimentation, when people were inoculated with cowpox in order to build up their resistance to smallpox. Penicillin was also discovered without animal research. More recently, the Heimlich maneuver was developed without vivisection and has saved countless lives. Also, studying human populations has led to many important medical discoveries, including the connection between heart disease and cholesterol, and the connection between smoking and cancer.
Does closing HLS make a difference?
The closure of HLS would certainly make a mark on the ENTIRE Vivisection Industry! This is why we are fighting so hard for closing the doors to Huntingdon Life Sciences for good! Everyone is watching and know they WILL be next! These perverted lies they call science are being thrown in their face and questioned. We will dismantle the entire industry one lab at a time!
There is NO justice! JUST US! SHUT DOWN HLS!
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