IRELAND: The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) has inadvertently shed some light on the nature of animal testing recently, with their annual report logging 225,000 cases in the last year alone. Responsible for for facilitating between the suppliers of these animals and the laboratories they wind up in, as well as the maintaining and inspecting of the practices taken within these labs, the HPRA is coming under fire from animal rights activists worldwide, disgusted by the results shown in their report.shed some light on the issue of animal testing recently, with their latest figures reporting over 225,000 cases of testing in the last year alone.
KINDS OF ANIMALS TESTED
According to the HPRA’s report, over 200,000 of these cases involved the use of mice, making up 90% of the total. Most of the tests done on mice—as well as other rodents, including 10,456 rats, 2,107 guinea pigs, and 1,539 rabbits—were cases are categorized as “regulatory and other routine production—” a requirement under EU law to research the toxicity and general safety of human pharmaceutical drugs.
Of these numbers, 90,000 mice, 1,104 rats and 36 rabbits were reported as having undergone experiments so severe, they became unable to be used again for animal testing.
Thousands of cows, sheep and pigs were also subject to testing, both for pharmaceutical and human cancer research. Figures also show over 1,200 cases of cats and dogs being subject to animal testing, however, they were limited only to veterinary-related medications and procedures. Other animals subjected to testing include horses, domestic fowl, ferrets, and fish.
WHAT’S BEING DONE ABOUT IT
According to the HPRA, there isn’t much we can do about it right now, as there are currently no possible alternatives to test for biological responses to drugs and medical procedures. They are insistent that the EU animal rights laws currently in place holds its own as among the most advanced legislation in the world, made with the goal to ensure the test subjects receive as much care and general well-being as they need.
The legislation currently active claims to reduce the total amount of tests done, seek alternatives to animal testing whenever possible, and fine-tune the methods already used in order to make them more humane.
However, animal rights activists such as John Carmody, representative and spokesman for the Animal Rights Action Network aren’t buying it, finding the new figures “shocking, even to the hardest of hearts.”
ARAN is one of many animal rights organizations pushing for deeper scrutiny into how research is conducted through animal testing, calling for more transparency and stricter laws to prevent the suffering of animals in laboratories across the globe.
The legislation currently active claims to reduce the total amount of tests done, seek alternatives to animal testing whenever possible, and fine-tune the methods already used in order to make them more humane.
Animal rights activists, sick of the same empty promises from the HPRA made year after year with no real results still aren’t buying it. John Carmody, representative and spokesman for the Animal Rights Action Network finds the new figures “shocking, even to the hardest of hearts,” seeking further change and progress than the HPRA has been able to deliver. ARAN is one of many animal rights organizations pushing for deeper scrutiny into how research is conducted through animal testing, calling for more transparency and stricter laws to prevent the suffering of animals in laboratories across the globe.
