05/10/2007
The European Union have shown that the UK is the country in which more experiments have been carried out in Europe in 2006, with a total of 3,010,000 procedures. Second comes Germany with 2,412,678 and third France with 2,325,398.
The argument which has been used to justify this has been that there are no alternative methods. Of course this is speciesist. Consider that experimentation on humans would surely be rather more useful than animal experimentation, yet no ones suggests its implementation, regardless of whether there are alternative methods or not, because that would harm humans in an unacceptable way. This seems very correct that this should be the case indeed. But if a similar attitude is not held when it comes to other animals, then that means that the interests of the latter are not being properly considered. In other words: that they are being discriminated against. Apart from this, it is significant that the fact is that the funds to finance the development of so-called alternative methods have not being increased either. The conclusion to be drawn is a rather straightforward one: there is simply no real will to reduce the harm nonhuman animals are undergoing in laboratories. Their interests are being counted for nothing.
Despite promises from politicians, animal experimentation has not been reduced in the United Kingdom. On the contrary, they have risen to reach a peak. In fact, during this period, the former prime minister even expressed publicly his support for animal experimentation, as a response against strategies using violence, given that most of the public (potential voters) reject such strategies. This has been unfortunate, since many of those who oppose these strategies have been driven to reject animal rights ideas. Note that it’s not necessary that the rejection of a strategy comes initially together with the rejection of the goal which the violence is attempting to further.