If you think animal testing helps human medicine . . ..Think again!
33 amazing facts to consider . . .
1. Less than 2% of human illnesses (1.16%) are ever seen in animals. Over 98% never affect animals.
2. According to the former scientific executive of Huntingdon Life Sciences, animal tests and human results agree "5%-25% of the time".
3. 95% of drugs passed by animal tests are immediately discarded as useless or dangerous to humans.
4. At least 50 drugs on the market cause cancer in lab animals. They are allowed because it is admitted the animal tests are not relevant.
5. Vivisectors, Procter & Gamble used an artificial musk despite it failing the animal tests, causing tumours in mice. They said the results were "of little relevance for humans".
6. Up to 90% of animal test results are discarded as they are inapplicable to man.
7. When asked if they agreed that animal experiments can be misleading "because of anatomical and physiological differences between animals and humans", 88% of doctors agreed.
8. Rats are 37% effective in identifying what causes cancer to humans. Flipping a coin would be 50% effective, and therefore more accurate.
9. Rodents are the animals almost always used in cancer research. They never get carcinomas, the human form of cancer, which affects membranes (eg. lung cancer). Their sarcomas affect bone and connecting tissue: the two are completely different.
10. The results from animal experiments can be altered by trivial factors such as diet and bedding. The same strain of mice developed cancer rates of over 90% in one location and almost zero in another lab - due only to different sawdust in their bedding.
11. Sex differences among lab animals can cause contradictory results. This does not correspond with humans.
12. An estimated 83% of substances are metabolised by rats in a way different from humans.
13. Attempts to sue the manufacturers of the drug Surgam failed due to the testimony of medical experts that: "data from animals could not be extrapolated safely to patients".
14. Lemon juice is a deadly poison, but arsenic, hemlock and botulin can be proved safe according to animal tests.
15. Genetically modified animals are not models for human illness. The mdx mouse is supposed to represent muscular dystrophy, but the muscles regenerate with no treatment.
16. According to a far reaching study, 88% of stillbirths are caused by drugs which passed animal tests.
17. 61% of birth defects are caused by drugs passed safe in animal tests, according to the same study. Defect rates are 200 times 1948 levels.
18. 70% of drugs known to cause birth defects pass tests on pregnant monkeys.
19. One in six patients in hospital are there because of treatment they have taken.
20. In America, 100,000 deaths a year are attributed to medical treatment. In one year 1.5 million people were hospitalised by medical treatment.
21. A World Health Organisation study showed children were 14 times more likely to develop measles if they had been vaccinated.
22. 40% of patients suffer side effects as a result of prescription treatment.
23. Over 200,000 medicines have been released, most of which are now withdrawn. According to the World Health Organisation, 240 medicines are "essential". Thousands of drugs passed safe in animals have been withdrawn or banned due to their effect on humans.
24. A German doctors' congress concluded that 6% of fatal illnesses and 25% of organic illness are caused by medicines. All have been animal tested.
25. The most common lifesaving operation (for ectopic pregnancies) was delayed 40 years by vivisection.
26. According to the Royal Commission into vivisection (1912) "The discovery of anaesthetics owes nothing to experiments on animals." The great Dr Hadwen noted "had animal experiments been relied upon. . .humanity would have been robbed of this great blessing of anaesthesia." The vivisector Halsey described the discovery of the anaesthetic Fluroxene as "One of the most dramatic examples of misleading evidence from animal data".
27. Aspirin fails animal tests, as do digitalis (heart drug), cancer treatments, insulin (which causes animal birth defects), penicillin and other safe medicines. They would be banned if vivisection were heeded.
28. When the producers of Thalidomide faced court, they were acquitted after numerous experts agreed animal tests could not be relied on for human medicine.
29. Blood transfusions were delayed 200 years by animal studies, corneal transplants were delayed 90 years.
30. Despite many Nobel prizes going to vivisectors, only 45% agree that animal experiments are crucial.
31. At least 450 methods exist with which we can replace animal experiments.
32. At least 33 animals die in labs per second worldwide. In the UK, one dies every four seconds.
33. The Director of Research Defence Society, (which serves only to defend vivisection) was asked if medical progress could have been achieved without animal use. His written reply was "I am sure it could be."
Produced by Vivisection Information Network (V.I.N.)
PO Box 223, Camberley, Surrey, GU16 5ZU