Lord Goldsmith wants to ban animal testing and is drawing up laws to achieve it

COMMENT ON THE NEWS: In the UK the Home Office is the government department in charge of animal testing rather than the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs because there is a security component as animal rights protesters sometimes congregate around animal testing facilities demanding change.

Ban on animal testing proposed by Lord Goldsmith and Priti Patel requests review
Ban on animal testing proposed by Lord Goldsmith and Priti Patel requests review. Photo: Pixabay.

This is why Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, has launched a review in which she is requesting officials to find ways to avoid animal testing in scientific research. She wants the country to reposition scientific research away from animals to using alternatives which are now scientifically possible. A lot of animal testing can be eliminated by using artificially created bio samples for instance and in any case sometimes animal testing does not translate to the effects that these products have on people. Therefore, animal testing isn’t always that accurate.

Lord Goldsmith is the UK’s animal welfare minister. He is a friend of Carrie Johnson, the Prime Minister’s wife. I’m told that he is pushing for a ban and is spending his time drawing up laws to ban foie gras and fur imports (weren’t these already banned?). He is also looking at the keeping of exotic animals as pets.

Often people don’t realise that millions of animals are tested and euthanised at testing facilities in Europe and in the UK annually. Yes, it’s millions and in the UK beagle dogs are bred for scientific research. Often these animals are euthanised after testing. It is hardly a civilised relationship between human and animal.

Last year, in the UK, 2.88 million scientific procedures were carried out on animals. Four thousand of the tests were conducted on beagles. A centre in Wyton, Cambridgeshire breeds beagles for scientific testing. They say that they are concerned about animal welfare. It’s hard to believe that considering that what they do is totally counter to animal welfare. They say that their puppies are happy and comfortable. You wonder where that attitude comes from. Do they realise what they’re doing and the immorality of it all are they blind to it?

Fortunately, a government spokesman said that the UK is “determined to replace the use of animals in science”. And that “our statistics show the lowest number of procedures involving animals since 2004, with the number of procedures decreasing by 15% on last year.”

The RSPCA wants the government to be committed to banning animal testing and they want to see the government producing some sort of timetable to achieve this. They want a clear statement and commitment from government.

Cats are sometimes used in animal testing. Mice are most commonly used to the best of my knowledge. And of course, dogs are also used as mentioned. It is probably fair to say that the UK is one of the leading country in terms of minimising animal testing and, as you can see in the story, are trying to progress to a time when it no longer exists. Other countries fall far short. Not long ago I wrote about The Netherlands where it appears that animal testing is on the increase and the number of dogs and cats experimented on has increased since 2016. And an animal testing laboratory in or near Hamburg, Germany called Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology (LPT) was found to be treating animals barbarically and they were kept in appalling conditions. Almost 90% of Germans want animal testing banned under EU laws.

Note: I know that animal testing is contentious and that there are supporters. I accept it. I detest it. I see it is cruel and unnecessary. We should not be using and abusing animals for our health.

Source: The Telegraph via MSN News.

SOME MORE ON ANIMAL TESTING:

Leave a Comment

follow it link and logo