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Strapped Animals Were Secretly Filmed Screaming In Pain During Test In German Lab

Undercover footage at the Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology (LPT) near Hamburg published by Cruelty Free International and Soko Tierschutz, a German-based animal welfare group.

LPT is one of the largest private laboratories in Germany.

Some of the monkeys are caged alone and are seen spinning in circles, indicating high levels of distress.

They were reportedly forced to stand for long periods. Dogs are pictured laying in their own blood and faeces. Staff also appeared to mishandle cats.

Friedrich Mullen from Soko Tierschutz said:

The animals were even still waggling their tails when they were being taken to be killed, the dogs were desperate for human contact.

Kate Willett, of Humane Society International, said this kind of treatment is “ethically insupportable and quite possibly illegal”. Any data collected from the animals would be virtually useless, since their physiology would be altered by the stresses they were experiencing.

Each country develops its own animal care guidelines, but dogs housed in these appalling conditions would not be up to the standards of the US or the UK, and it has serious ramifications for the quality of the scientific results.

It’s time for this type of testing to be relegated to the history bin. There are new, non-animal methodologies available for safety testing so to see this type of abuse going on in in the name of science in the 21st century is unforgivable.

According to Cruelty Free International, toxicology testing involves ‘poisoning’ animals to see how much of a chemical or drug it takes to cause serious harm – in an attempt to measure what a ‘safe’ dose for humans might be.

Michelle Thew, Chief Executive of Cruelty Free International stated:

Our investigation has uncovered appalling animal suffering, inadequate care, poor practices and breaches of European and German law. We are calling for the Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology (LPT) to be closed.

We are also calling for a comprehensive review into the use of animals in regulatory toxicity testing in Europe, including the UK. Every investigation, without fail, shows a similar tale of misery and disregard of the law.

Since 2015, nine inspections have taken place at the facility, seven of which were unannounced. The authorities had never objected to its “animal husbandry”, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Germany does have a law against mistreating animals. Charges have been lodged with a state prosecutor, according to The Guardian.

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