In a joint statement released today by Cruelty Free International, Cruelty Free Europe, Eurogroup for Animals, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Foundation (PETA), the animal protection organizations stress that it is essential that authorities, under the leadership of the World Health Organization (WHO), work together with a focus on humane, human-relevant research.
While everyone wants a safe and effective vaccine and other medicines for COVID-19 produced as quickly as possible, it should not be at the expense and undue suffering of thousands of innocent animals such as: monkeys, dogs, cats, ferrets, and mice.
Sadly, animal experimentation remains one of the approaches used in this research which adds to the unfathomable suffering caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This, despite animal testing and experimentation being cruel and unreliable with a history of failure in the development of drugs used for humans.
“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will have a long-lasting effect on our societies and our work, and this change of paradigm should also be reflected in the way we carry out research, there is an urgent need to focus on advanced scientific techniques that are more representative of what actually happens in the human body, than old ways including the use of animals,” Reineke Hameleers, CEO of Eurogroup for Animals said in a statement. “It is crucial that the WHO and other authorities acknowledge that many animals are suffering as well, and that they help to focus the research efforts of governments, researchers, clinicians, and companies towards more humane and human-relevant approaches.”
As huge numbers of animals and billions of dollars, pounds, and euros are being directed towards trying to solve the problem, it is vital that the scientific and technical merits and ethical aspects of proposed research are robustly assessed in each and every case.
Countries and institutions must also try to coordinate their research, sharing data to prevent any duplication of effort or repeated testing on animals.
That is, until the ineffective and unnecessary testing and experimentations on animals stops completely. As many lives as possible must be spared from this pandemic, including animals.
The urgent need is for more resources to be directed towards studying the virus in humans to increase our understanding of the disease, treat patients, and limit the spread of the virus altogether.
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