Animal
experiments are always heartbreaking, since they involve
caging up scared, confused, helpless animals that are
tortured and prodded until they're no longer considered
"useful." But the animal research industry doesn't only
exploit laboratory creatures — it also kills off
millions of "excess" animals that are never even used in
experiments. Official European Union estimates suggest
that, in 2017, labs in the EU killed off 12.6
million animals before they were ever used in studies.
That's even more than the total number of animals
actually used in research facilities — which is 9.4
million creatures. Most of these culls are
carried out in the most simple, heartless, cold way
possible: with the click of a button. Researchers pull
up an animal on a computer console and, just as though
they were ordering a sandwich or playing a computer
game, they select the "death" option and that's
it. Then, carbon dioxide floods
in and the creature is fumigated to death.
Luckily,
in Germany, this could be about to change. The country
has strong protections for animal welfare, and prohibits
any person or group from harming or killing animals
unnecessarily. Prosecutors in one German state want to
make sure this legal protection also extends to the
millions of unused animals at research sites. Most
experimentation centers are furious about this possible
change. However, one boasted it has since updated its
computer software to force researchers to consider
rehousing or transferring excess animals instead of
instantly killing them. This proves that there
are other ways of operating at these facilities. They
don't have to be the sources of constant mass
murders! All research
facilities in Germany must stop killing these helpless
"excess" animals. Sign the petition now if you
agree!
