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Dealing Dogs
Research dogs awaiting their fate
Vivisection is the practice of cutting
into or using invasive techniques on live animals. The term is derived
from the Latin word vivus, which means alive. Vivisection is
commonly called animal experimentation and includes the use of animals
for research, product testing and in education.
Animal experimentation is conducted in a wide range of environments,
including universities, hospitals, research institutes, independent
laboratories that conduct research for corporations, military bases, and
agricultural facilities.
In 2004, the USDA reported a total of 88,572 dogs and cats were used in
research in the United States.
Dogs and primates are commonly used in toxicity testing, brain research,
dental research, heart and lung research and surgical experiments.
Because of their compact size and friendly temperament, the beagle has
been one of the most popular dog breeds to be used in medical research.
Beagles used in smoking/inhalation
tests.
Cats are commonly used in experiments
involving experimental neurology, some aspects of ophthalmology,
retrovirus research, inherited diseases and immunodeficiency diseases.
Unfortunate victims of medical
research
There are three categories of research
animals -- purpose bred, random source and conditioned.
Purpose bred animals are bred specifically for research and
obtained from Class “A” dealers who raise all their animals in a closed
colony on their own premises. Researchers claim that the “advantages” of
using purpose bred animals include: more uniform genetic control, fewer
health problems, excellent vaccination histories, animals free of common
diseases and parasites, and animals accustomed to cage life. Adversely,
purpose bred dogs are more expensive and they lack the proper
socialization necessary for research.
Random source animals are not specifically bred for research and
are purchased from pounds, Class “B” dealers or donated to research.
Random source animals come from a random genetic pool; that is, they
have not come from controlled in-breeding. Researchers in the area of
organ and cell transplantation, for example, prefer the use of "randomly
outbred" animals. Randomly outbred animals, the type most commonly found
in pounds and acquired through “B” dealers, have widely divergent
genetic backgrounds.
Conditioned animals are purpose bred and random source animals
that have been quarantined, vaccinated, and determined free of parasites
and any other medical or biological anomaly.
Research Facilities Continued to Buy
Dogs from Baird
Once news of the August 2003 raid spread,
Baird lost many of his clients. However, the University of
Missouri-Columbia (Mizzou) continued to buy dogs from Baird until
December 2004, a month before his settlement was finalized. The school
said it was waiting for a final finding. "We want to make sure due
process is given its full cycle," university spokesman Christian Basi
explained. "We had no hard evidence, no solid evidence that anything was
wrong." Mizzou says it stands by its decision to continue buying from
Baird.
In general, facilities continue to purchase and use random source
animals because they can. In many instances, random source dogs are
considerably cheaper than purpose bred dogs and have much better
temperaments. Animals that have been around people are usually more
friendly and easy-going.
Alternatives to Animals in Medical
Research
The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act
and the Consumer Product Safety Commission do not require that
pharmaceuticals, cosmetics or other household products be tested on
animals. However, the Food and Drug Administration regulations do
require that all new drugs undergo animal tests before they can proceed
to clinical (human) trials. This does not mean that information gathered
in animal experiments has any predictive value.
There are many precise, cost-effective and humane ways to answer human
health questions and conduct scientific research. Alternatives to using
animals in research include epidemiological studies (studies of human
populations), clinical research, in vitro (test tube) research, computer
technologies such as simulators and imaging techniques and replacing
animals with human cells in safety tests.
a) Epidemiological and Clinical Studies
Studies of human populations have provided important information about
the causes of many diseases, such as the relationships between
cholesterol and heart disease, the mechanism of transmission of HIV and
chemical exposures and birth defects.
Scientists can “see” abnormalities -- and track treatment progress -- in
the brains of victims of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases,
schizophrenia, epilepsy and brain injury using sophisticated scanning
technologies (CT, PET and MRI). All drugs must undergo clinical testing
before becoming approved; carefully crafted clinical research is the
best way to determine human reactions to new drugs.
b) In Vitro Research
An enormous amount of valuable in vitro (test tube) research is
conducted today. The National Disease Research Interchange provides more
than 130 kinds of human tissue to scientists investigating more than 50
diseases, including cancer, diabetes and glaucoma. Cell and tissue
cultures are used to screen new therapies and to test for product
safety. Genetic micro arrays are being used to predict liver toxicity by
measuring gene expression in human liver cells.
In Vitro research is a popular
alternative to animals
c) In Silico (Computer) Technologies
Computers can often predict the toxicity of chemicals, including their
potential to cause cancer or birth defects, based on their molecular
structure. Computer simulations can also predict the metabolism and
distribution of chemicals in human tissues.
d) Safety Testing
Safety tests using human cells are more accurate than animal tests. In
the Multicenter Evaluation of In Vitro Cytotoxicity tests (MEIC),
researchers evaluated 68 different methods to predict the toxicity of 50
different chemicals. Rat LD50 tests -- lethal dose tests currently used
-- were only 59 percent accurate, but a combined human cell test was 83
percent accurate in predicting actual human toxicity.
Human tissue is more reliable
than animal tissue
Pharmagene Laboratories conducts new drug
development exclusively using human tissues and computer technologies.
With tools from molecular biology and biochemistry, Pharmagene
investigates how new drugs affect the actions of human genes or the
proteins they make. These techniques replace animal tests in many cases.
Keep family pets out of research labs!
Click
HERE to support the Pet Safety
and Protection Act!
 To
find out which companies test cosmetic, personal care and household
products on animals, visit the Caring Consumer Web site at
www.CaringConsumer.com.
For more information on the use of animals in research, visit:
www.pcrm.org
www.navs.org
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