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Good Reasons to Stop Vivisection


Section: Animal Rights
Subsection: Why Stop Vivisection
Last revision: June 20, 2006

There are many reasons to stop vivisection; lots of informations on this topic can be found on the Internet as well as on various books. Among the reasons I've found, I'll try to report the most important to me.

Vivisection is Useless

Results from animal tests are not transferable between species, and therefore cannot guarantee product safety for humans...In reality these tests do not provide protection for consumers from unsafe products, but rather they are used to protect corporations from legal liability. -- Herbert Gundersheimer, M.D.

`Researchers' often justify vivisection for its effects on human life but - sadly - this has never happened.

Many decades of vivisection practice haven't brought a single practical result; billions of animals die in laboratories and nobody has come up with a scientific proof of usefulness for such experiments.

Animal experimentation is simply a good business: "researchers" can publish large amounts of papers simply repeating the same useless experiments on different animals and under slightly different conditions.

Chemical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries test on animals but these tests are definitely not significant. As an example, cigarettes have been sold for many years as absolutely non dangerous because tests on animals showed there was no relationship between smoke and cancer.

The only significant tests are so stupid to be even more useless: if you burn dogs alive (it happens !) you'll find out they all die, but you don't need to test, everybody can tell you.

Some folks place lipstick on dogs' eyes, then in their mouths and see a suffering blind dog, but still alive. So they can write something like "avoid contact with eyes" and "not lethal in case of ingestion". I think the first suggestion should be given without any experimentation; the second advice is false: lots of substances are lethal for humans, but not for animals.

Tests on animals are just a formality to be legally authorized to sell potentially dangerous products. The real guinea pig is you!

Ethically Unacceptable

One day the world will look upon research upon animals as it now looks upon research on human beings Leonardo Da Vinci

Even if vivisection could bring significant improvement in medical research and in products safety (but it can't !), it would also be unacceptable. Usefulness is not a justification; otherwise, we should allow experiments on human beings, the only really significant tests.

Experimenters often say that humans are a "superior race" compared to others; humans may be superior to animals, when judging on intelligence, but this is not a justification for killing them. On the contrary, if we are superior, we have to protect and care for those who are weaker.

We should apply to animal the same logic we apply to other people; if you are physically, or mentally superior to another person, you have to help, not kill for your own sake.

Vivisection is Dangerous

Doctors who speak out in favour of vivisection do not deserve any recognition in society, all the more so since their brutality is apparent not only during such experiments, but also in their practical medical lives. They are mostly men who stop at nothing in order to satisfy their ruthless and unfeeling lust for honours and gain. Dr. med. Hugo Knecht

Animals are not the only victims of vivisection.

Vivisection's uselessness has a direct consequence: vivisection is dangerous.

Chemical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries can sell almost everything if they find an animal species immune to the tested product. If you ever wondered why people die for using medical or chemical products considered safe, the reason is simple: every animal species is used in vivisection, so you can prove everything.

In other words, animal testing is an easy way to sell potentially dangerous products with a strong legal disclaimer. Some industries use alternative tests (computer simulations etc.) but they are much more difficult to manipulate.

You may be thinking: "OK, but if they didn't test on animals, there would be even more dangerous products". It's not true; if you don't test on animals, you loose this sort of "legislative immunity" and you are much more responsible about what you're selling.

Moreover, people who are cruel to non-human animals, who cause their suffering and death, are very likely to be insensitive to humans too. On the contrary, people who care for the animals, are very likely to worry for your safety too.

Follow the link at the end of this page, and think that every time you use products tested on animals (medical products, detergents, cosmetics and so on) you are not only contributing to this pain, but you are also placing your life and your beloved's lifes in the hands of people who practice all this. These people are able to slowly kill animals with their own hands, will they care about the people dying far away from them? Why do you think your life should count something for them?

What You Can Do

To forgive and accept injustice is cowardice. Mohandas Gandhi

How to turn informations into positive, concrete actions.

First, you can buy products not tested on animals. Nowaday, it's very easy to find soaps, shampoos, cosmetics not tested on animals. In every country there are lists of `cruelty-free' products: ask to local animal rights organizations or search the Internet.

Examples are:

USA:
http://www.leapingbunny.org
UK:
http://www.buav.org/campaigns/camp_cosmetics.html
Italy:
http://www.consumoconsapevole.org/07cosmetici-d.html and http://www.noi-animali.org/vivisezione/ricerca/index.html

But don't care about advices like `Not tested on animals': they often mean that producer didn't test the end product on animals but may have paid others to do it. Moreover, the single ingredients may have been tested. You have to look at the lists above (or similar lists in your country).

We can also inform others about vivisection's uselessness and danger; when you read newspapers or magazines and find misinformation about these topics, write a letter to state your opinion, and suggest others to do the same.

You don't need to do these things on your own: there are many organizations trying to join efforts against vivisection's crimes.

Further readings: Photographic exhibition on vivisection

Photographic exhibition on vivisection


Other Topics in the same Section (Animal Rights):

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