| Show I f- f Billions of dollars paid for animal abuse By Christa McKinnon Arts Editor or many years the cry of the F For biomedical industry has been Your child or your dog or one brown dog to one blue baby You hear it during Congressional hearings hearings hearings hear hear- ings when people suffering a multitude multitude multitude multi multi- tude of illnesses beg Congress to increase increase increase in in- crease support for the animal research which is their only hope for relief You see it when members of the public show their outrage at the animal right fanatics who care more about puppies and kittens than they would about endangering children by abolishing vital animal research However what you do not hear is exactly how the billions of dollars appropriated by Congress each year to search for cures are actually actually actually ac ac- ac- ac spent The University of Kansas was given to conduct an experiment experiment experiment ment on child research In this experiment experiment experiment ex ex- ex- ex water deprived Shetland ponies were forced to drink from an electrified water bowl while exposed to noises from loud speakers on either side of the head Noise from left speaker was followed by electric shocks causing the ponies to stop drinking following noise on the right The ponies could no longer distinguish distinguish distinguish distin distin- between them to avoid shock r aF White rat receives electrical shock to kindle strange behavior This animal was used to determine if cocaine stimulated electrode kindling Researchers pointed to similar experiments experiments experiments ments on white rats kangaroos dogs cats monkeys opossums seals dolphins dolphins dolphins dol dol- and elephants and concluded that ponies have great difficulty in distinguishing the direction of noises as compared with other animals Another such horror is repeated by Dr Roy professor of Zoology Zoology Zoology Zool Zool- ogy at Ohio State University Mr Tas Tas- sava was granted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to cut off the legs of 40 newborn opossums to see if the limbs would grow back Obviously they According to Katharine Brant Humane Society Director of Development Development Development Develop Develop- ment many animals are used in experiments experiments experiments ex ex- ex- ex that have been repeated thousands of times before with the same results each time Two of the major tests which are routinely performed performed performed per per- formed are the Lethal and the Draize Eye Irritancy Test These tests which cause the suffering and death of millions of animals annually annual annual- ly are not only cruel but they also have no s scientific justification The is a test where the amount of the substance which when administered administered administered ad ad- ministered in a single dose will kill half of a test group of animals within a specified period of time Anesthetics Anesthetics Anesthetics Anes Anes- are omitted as animals are force-fed force the test substances Symptoms include paralysis convulsions convulsions convulsions etc until death finally occurs In the Draize test rabbits are put in holding stocks while the test product such as as ove cleaner an r J input in their eyes Rabbits have inadequate inadequate inadequate quate tear ducts to clear out the chemical and therefore are blinded According to Ms Brant million million million mil mil- lion animals are senselessly killed each year in laboratories by conducting conducting conducting conduct conduct- ing trivial redundant and unnecessary unnecessary unnecessary sary experiments Many are not even published in scientific journals and thus could have no possible benefit to humans In addition animals are unacceptable unacceptable unacceptable table models for humans because first and foremost animal bodies work differently from humans What may succeed in animals may fail in humans and vice versa Arsenic for instance can cause cancer in humans but not in mice or rats Likewise benzene is carcinogenic to humans but mice can handle this chemical quite nicely another carcinogen is deadly to mice while rats guinea pigs and dogs dont don't show any sign of cancer Likewise it is possible that if aspirin a drug widely regarded as safe formost formost for formost most humans had undergone today's procedure for testing in animals it wouldn't be on the store shelves Aspirin has been proven to cause birth defects in rats mice guinea pigs cats dogs and even monkeys But despite being widely used by pregnant women throughout the years asprin has failed to produce birth defects in humans In addition in the experimental setting the disease is forced upon an animal the resulting condition being far removed from a naturally occurring occurring occurring occur occur- ring disease in humans Furthermore there is no reliable formula that scientists can use to translate information information information mation gained from animals to humans Despite the obvious differences between animals and humans the occurrence of repetitive testing is atro atrocious ous Some figures claim that experiments experiments experiments ments dealing with valium and related related related re re- re- re anxiety anti-anxiety drugs has occurred times stress experiments 2033 self mutilation sexual behavior 1830 and sensory deprivation which often includes blinding This accounts for a great deal of repetitive and useless animal suffer suffer- ing According to Dr Andrew Rowan of the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine 45 million mice thousand rabbits thousand dogs thousand cats and 25 thousand non human primates are used in research each year These animals are involved in testing that is repetitive and has little or no particular particular particular par par- significance towards humans It has been estimated that each marketed drug accounts for the lives of to animals er- er L S F This primate had his spinal nerves severed rendering his left arm useless It will be taunted deprived of food and suffer suffer suffer suf suf- suf- suf fer electric shocks to see if it will ultimately ultimate- ultimate ly use its crippled arm However one must realize that for every experiment there is a company company company com com- pany or federal grant money waiting in the wings If 5 of the budget of the National Institute of Health were saved because of elimination of duplication the overall savings would be about million a year As for dollars somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 billion is doled out each year to all US U.S. researchers whose projects use animals according according according accord accord- ing to figures provided by Bob Schreiber spokesperson for the National National National Na Na- Institutes of Health No matter how its it's counted 8 billion dollars is isa isa isa a lot of money That much money can cover the cost cost- of oJ al an annual up check for every man woman and child in the US U.S. It could fund prenatal prenatal prenatal prena prena- tal care for every baby born to American mothers and then some If even a portion of the 8 billion were spent on prevention theres no telling how many lives would be saved Dr Neal Barnard of the Physicians Committee for responsible medicine research pro-research people put out information that your child will die if theres there's no animal experimentation The truth is right now your baby has hasa a two one-in-two chance of getting heart disease and a three one-in-three chance of getting cancer Animal experimentation tion has not worked |
