Showing posts with label EU. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EU. Show all posts

Sunday, 18 July 2021

Millions of UNUSED research animals killed in Germany including cats

A report which was discussed in April 2020 in the news media revealed a shocking statistic namely that in Germany 3.9 million animals died at research laboratories and these animals had never been used in research. I'll restate that because it is so shocking. Animals brought into research laboratories or bred there and which were not subsequently employed in the research were killed nonetheless and the number of these animals stands at 3.9 million. The figure relates to 2017 in Germany.

Animals not used but killed in Animal research in Germany amounted to 3.9 million in 2017
Animals not used but killed in Animal research in Germany amounted to 3.9 million in 2017. Photo: Image by Tibor Janosi Mozes from Pixabay.



The information was released after the Green party requested the information. Perhaps more shockingly, across the entire European Union 12.6 million animals were killed under the same circumstances. I find that number hard to digest. Is it really true? It is saying that almost 13 million animals were killed for no reason! No reason whatsoever. This is mass animal cruelty but entirely legalised.

Initially the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel tried to sugarcoat the statistics by releasing the number of animals killed after they were experimented on. That number is high enough at 2.8 million in Germany in 2017. Apparently 2017 saw the highest number of animals ever bred for research in Germany. They included 718 cats, monkeys, fish and over a quarter of a million rats.

About 50% are used for basic research experiments, 27% used in testing for new medicines, while 15% were tested in respect of specific diseases. Across Europe animal experiments are banned to research cosmetics. The same applies to the UK.

Comment: there are many instances when animals that have been tested on for scientific purposes are still viable as domestic pets but they are invariably killed. But, in the EU, when they are not even used, abused, exploited and injured by scientific researchers they are still killed and thrown away. You just can't fathom it can you?

The German Animal Welfare Act allows the use of animals in research despite the fact that the law provides extensive and far-reaching protection. Interestingly, animals under the law in Germany are regarded as "fellow creatures". Hardly true. In order to justify experiments on animals in Germany the researchers must always show that the goal of the experiments cannot be reached using any other methods or techniques. Specifically, experiments can only be carried out if at least one of the following criteria is fulfilled:

  • The experiments serve the purpose of prevention, diagnosis or treatment of diseases in humans and animals;
  • They help recognize environmental hazards;
  • They are part of safety testing for materials or products;
  • They are necessary for basic research.

Note: I've taken those words verbatim from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics webpage in the interests of complete accuracy.

Friday, 25 September 2020

Sale of clothes containing fur in shops in Britain will be banned

The UK government is drawing up plans to prohibit the sale of clothes containing fur in shops after Britain leave the European Union's single market and customs union. This is the result of Brexit. The government is currently negotiating a Brexit agreement with the European Union and it looks more hopeful at the moment. 

The European Union banned the import and sale of fur from domestic cats and dogs across the EU in 2009. However, an investigation by the Humane Society International in the UK discovered that fur described as faux fur is in fact real and can be found in some clothes and shoes. Faux fur is not better than the real thing.

Objectionable fur clothing. Photo: Pixabay. Note: I am not criticising this man
who is probably a model. Also I am not sure if the fur is fake or genuine.

The point to make is this: it is very pleasing to animal advocates that the UK government is going to put an end to the sale of clothes containing fur in the UK starting next year (all being well) but they will have to be particularly observant and rigourous in weeding out real fur masquerading as faux fur. My research indicates that faux fur is actually more expensive to reduce than the real thing, which is a terrible indictment of the amount of cruelty perpetrated on captive animals who are killed for their skins.

Apparently the faux fur is cat fur. Retailers should take responsibility for ensuring that the fur on the clothes that they sell is genuinely false. They should trace the source and insist that their suppliers provide certificates that their products are genuinely faux fur. Genuine fur disguised as faux fur is apparently quite a big issue in the high street. Fur traders find ways to wriggle around regulations.

I sincerely hope that the British government get a handle on this. There are a lot of unscrupulous producers, wholesalers and retailers who don't care about animal welfare. Changing the law and banning the sale of fur in clothes in the High Street in the UK is not enough although very welcome. There needs to be strict enforcement which is going to prove very difficult.

The move to ban fur in shops is being driven by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park who is the Defra minister with responsibility for animal welfare. He is working, as I understand it, with Carrie Symonds, Boris Jonson's partner who as we all know is a keen animal advocate. The ban would be a strong signal of Britain's post-Brexit freedoms. It would be very popular because opinion polls have indicated that about 80% of Briton's think that fur on clothes are unacceptable nowadays. They dislike the trade in fur. Northern Ireland will be exempt from this proposal because they remain in the EU's single market and customs rules.

The British Fur Trade Association, as expected, say that the proposals are "irrational, illiberal and misjudged". Animal advocates would say the same thing about the association. It is time for change, there is no doubt about it.

Featured Post

i hate cats

i hate cats, no i hate f**k**g cats is what some people say when they dislike cats. But they nearly always don't explain why. It appe...

Popular posts