Painful Animal Experiments Increase

16 Nov 2000

Wellington Animal Action

The number of laboratory animals undergoing "severe or very severe suffering" tripled in 1999 according to the latest figures released by the Ministry of Agriculture today.

Animal experiments are graded according to a five point suffering scale. Animals used in the two most severe categories increased from 7642 in 1998 to 26399 in 1999. Species used in these painful experiments included birds, dogs, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, rats, rabbits and one cow.

Anti vivisection activists say the increase is evidence that the law does not protect animals in laboratories.

Mark Eden, from Animal Action, says "Most New Zealanders are opposed to cruelty yet the government has done nothing to help animals in laboratories. Instead the experiments seem to be getting worse. Most of these experiments are paid for with taxpayers money and the cruelty is increasing".

"The animal ethics committee report claims that cruel experiments are only carried out when there is a "disproportionately large" benefit to animals and people, but fails to list a single example of the alleged benefits of torturing animals".

"The truth is there are no benefits. Vivisection is bad science and many doctors and scientists in other countries are rejecting animal research in favour of more ethical and scientifically accurate methods. It's time New Zealand did the same instead of wasting millions of dollars in useless animal experiments".

Wellington Animal Action is a group of animal liberation activists using direct action against all forms of animal abuse. WAA was founded in 1995 and since then we have sabotaged duckhunts, occupied vivisectors offices, filmed conditions inside factory farms and protested at all forms of animal abuse.

For more info contact: Mark Eden, Animal Action, Phone (04) 385-6728

-- PO Box 6387, Te Aro, Wellington, Aotearoa (New Zealand) Phone 0064 04 385-6728

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