Support Britain's MPs as they Lead the Way Internationally, Calling for a Groundbreaking Up-To-Date Science Inquiry

A group of MPs have formally called upon the Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC) to open a scientific inquiry 'as a matter of urgency' about the claim that 'animal experiments save people's lives'. The HASC oversee the workings of the Home Office which issues licenses for experiments on animals.

Government scientific advisers who brief the Home Office about medical research still continue to claim that results from animal experiments can 'predict' human responses i.e. claim that animal experiments are essential to find cures for human diseases. For example, in the Guardian newspaper 17th November 2013, a chief proponent of vivisection Prof. Colin Blakemore made the following claim: “animal experiments…it is an unavoidable fact that we need them if we are to develop new medicines and treatments that will save people's lives”. This claim has been proved unequivocally false by current understanding of evolutionary biology, best illustrated by the seminal work Animal Models in Light of Evolution Shanks PhD and Greek MD (2009).

OUR MPs NEED YOUR SUPPORT!!

By signing this petition your letter will automatically arrive at the HASC, helping our cross-party MPs demonstrate that there is strong public support for their call for this scientific inquiry, to be conducted at the level currently held by up-to-date scientific knowledge.

The Questions Prepared for this Inquiry 

The questions prepared for the HASC to employ in their cross-questioning have been written by highly qualified experts at the medical Board AFMA/EFMA who will be represented in person at the inquiry, so as to be available to be cross-questioned in turn, including about the answers already received from the government's pro-vivisection advisers. EFMA have a track record of success in the UK, defeating Cambridge University's plans to build a high profile primate laboratory in 2003, with a precedent ruling on 'medical and scientific, national interest grounds'. Read more about this landmark ruling here. 

HISTORY IN THE MAKING

This ground-breaking and historic initiative aims to expose as both scientifically and legally entirely unacceptable any call that laboratory animal numbers should be merely 'reduced'. Merely reducing animal numbers ignores up-to-date scientific knowledge thereby failing human patients.'Reduction' of animal numbers is also morally unsound, leaving so many sentient animal incarcerated, languishing in terrible pain and traumatic fear in laboratories all over the world. Merely 'reducing' animal numbers fails everyone.

A Brief Historical Perspective: 

Animal experiments – as claimed able to predict human responses - were first institutionalised in 1847 by Claude Bernard who went on to reject the Theory of Evolution! This gives a clear view on how out-of-date animal experiments - as applied to human medicine – really are. Read more about this key historical aspect here. There are many supporting scientific experts outside those on the AFMA/EFMA Board which has prepared the questions for this inquiry. For example, senior cancer investigator Dr Jim Woodgett comments in Nature science journal here and a Professor of Medicine voted one of America's top doctors says 'mouse models are ready for retirement'. Indeed, pharmaceutical companies acknowledge the failure of animal experiments in their drug development process and write about this openly and often in the scientific literature. 

 

What Does This Petition Mean for Beagle Dogs and Non-Human Primates?

Loveable, friendly Beagles are the chosen breed of dog for these experiments. The latest figures from the Home Office show that in 2012, 85% of all Beagles experimented on were used for such experiments, claimed as able to 'predict' human responses - that's 2,647 individual dogs out the total 3,118. (Essentially  these dogs were used to test the toxicity levels for new human medicines and for ADME studies for the same). These figures also apply to highly intelligent non-human primates. The total number of primates experimented on in 2012 was 2,186, of which 1,918 - or  88% - were used in experiments claimed as applicable for human patients - as 'applied human studies'. And again, this is reflected in experiments on rats: out of a total of 273,046 individual rats, 200,526, - that's 73%  - were used in experiments claimed as applicable to humans.

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Further ways you can keep in touch

Please Like our new, accessible science facebook page!  Like our new community Beagle page here!  Follow our growing Alliance for Science on twitter @forlifeonearth; @LabBeagle1030 ; @closedownharlan; @OpposeBandK

THANK YOU from all at: 

Human Rights: Patient Group, NO to Animal Experiments, incorporating the campaigns Save the Harlan Beagles and Oppose B and K Universal, posting under their flagship, the Parliamentary-based campaign For Life On Earth