What You Can Do to Help the Animals pt.5 - Stop Animal Tests / Vivisection

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP STOP VIVISECTION


As anti-vivisectionsts, we are often asked "But what can I do help stop vivisection?"
A little or a lot, it all depends on you. A drop in the ocean? Maybe - but that is what the ocean is made up of!

In short, it is vital that we do all we can to inform others of not just the cruelties of animal experimentation, but also the harms done to people through basing our health care system on the wrong methodology of vivisection; the ridiculous belief that in some way mice are miniature men.

The following is a list of suggestions which you might like to consider if you want to become actively involved in the campaign to end vivisection. Naturally what you do will be decided by your available time and other factors. All we ask is that you do something.

Inform yourself:

Most importantly, before you are effectively able to inform others first educate yourself to the fraud of vivisection. Purchase recommended books and booklets, and the Lethal Medicine video. Read information leaflets to get some basic understanding of the issues.

Inform others:

1. Lend your books and video to friends and family.

2. Distribute leaflets to houses in your area, or to the pubic in busy places - such as shopping areas or train stations.

3. Leaves small amounts of leaflets in places where they are likely to be picked up, such as in health food shops with the permission of sympathetic owners.

4. Put on video screenings to groups of friends, or members of environmental, animal welfare, womens’ groups, etc.

5. Write letters to newspapers. Remember there is much more chance of it being published in a local paper than a national, and if the letter is clearly typed, and to the point. Don't waffle! Don't be disheartened if it is not published, but try again at a later date. Make copies and send to other local papers. Write your letter in response to recent news items, such as drug damages, the cost of the NHS, etc.

6. Join local or national protests against institutions engaged in vivisection. See the SHAC and ARC web sites for more details.

7. Write to your MP demanding the total abolition of vivisection. Do not be deterred by unfavourable replies! Point out that vivisection has caused, and is causing, terrible damage to human health, the environment, and the economy.

8. Support only the genuine anti-vivisection movement! Support only those groups that demand the immediate and total abolition of ALL animal experiments on both moral and medical grounds. Unfortunately some groups have been infiltrated by vivisectionists in order to ensure the continuation of vivisection. These are recognisable by their cries of abolition of only "some" experiments, or of the “eventual" abolition of vivisection. They often demand the "replacement" of animal experiments with "alternatives", or of the "refinement" or "reduction" of animal experiments (the "3 Rs") - all sly and subtle ways of suggesting that vivisection is beneficial and as yet cannot be abolished immediately.

9. Please consider making a donation to the BAVA. All donations are gratefully received and will go towards the production and distribution of more anti-vivisection literature, and occasionally the publication of adverts such as those we have included on this web site.

10. Put on anti-vivisection displays in public places, such as libraries or in school foyers. Leaflets and other campaign materials can be obtained from the relevant groups listed, or download articles and images from the internet for your display.

11. Obtain signatures on petitions against vivisection. Offer a leaflet to all those signing your petition.

12. Display anti-vivisection posters (legally) where they will attract attention.

13. Avoid animal-tested products. See if the label says "cruelty-free". If in doubt, contact the manufacturer to ask their stance on animal testing.

14. Avoid charities engaged in vivisection. This includes most, although not all "medical research" charities. Probably all of those engaged in "cancer research" fund vivisection. Do not fund these - they are the arch torturers. Contact any charity prior to giving if you are unsure, to ask their policy on vivisection.

15. Publicise the internet addresses of this web site and of the others on our links page, especially at schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions, most of whom will have access to the internet - and thus a wealth of good anti-vivisection information.

As you can see, there is a great deal an individual can do, with some suggestions outlined above. There are probably other ideas you could come up with to help further the genuine anti-vivisection message.

Finally, avoid the prescription pad where possible. Less profits for the drugs industry means less money for vivisection. Perhaps you could consider seeing a registered naturopath, accupuncturist, homeopath etc for medical advice? Remember that doctors are trained in drug-company funded medical schools, and may have financial interests in the drug companies.



FACTS : WHY VIVISECTION IS POINTLESS

Animal experimentation, also known as vivisection, is a fraudolent science according to an ever growing number of doctors and researchers.
More than 800 million animals are tortured and killed in laboratories worldwide every year, yielding misleading results that jeopardize the health and safety of millions of people, often leading to their demise.
The fact that the results of animal tests cannot be safely extrapolated onto humans is even agreed upon by many vivisectors.

Please read the following list of the 33 reasons why vivisection is pointless and get involved in campaigns against vivisection!



(1) Less than 2% of human illnesses (1.16%) are ever seen in animals.

(2) According to the former scientific executive of Huntingdon Life Sciences, animal tests and human results agree only '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 laboratory animals. They are allowed because it is admitted the animal tests are not relevant.

(5) Procter & Gamble used an artificial musk despite it failing the animal tests, i.e., causing tumours in mice. They said the animal test results were 'of little relevance for humans'.

(6) 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.

(7) Rats are only 37% effective in identifying what causes cancer to humans. Flipping a coin would be more accurate.

(8) Rodents are the animals almost always used in cancer research. They never get carcinomas, the human form of cancer, which affects membranes (e.g lung cancer). Their sarcomas affect bone and connecting tissue: the two cannot be compared.

(9) Up to 90% of animal test results are discarded as they are inapplicable to man.

(10) The results from animal experiments can be altered by factors such as diet and bedding. Bedding has been identified as giving cancer rates of over 90% and almost nil in the same strain of mice at different locations.

(11) Sex differences among laboratory animals can cause contradictory results. This does not correspond with humans.

(12) 9% of anaesthetised animals, intended to recover, die.

(13) An estimated 83% of substances are metabolised by rats in a different way to humans.

(14) 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'.

(15) Lemon juice is a deadly poison, but arsenic, hemlock and botulin are safe according to animal tests.

(16) Genetically modified animals are not models for human illness. The mdx mouse is supposed to represent muscular dystrophy, but the muscles regenerate without treatment.

(17) 88% of stillbirths are caused by drugs which are passed as being safe in animal tests, according to a study in Germany.

(18) 61% of birth defects are caused by drugs passed safe in animal tests, according to the same study. Defect rates are 200 times post war levels.

(19) One in six patients in hospital are there because of a 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, only 240 are 'essential'.

(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 lifesaving operation for ectopic pregnancies was delayed 40 years due to 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 that 'had animal experiments been relied upon...humanity would have been robbed of this great blessing of anaesthesia'. The vivisector Halsey described the discovery of Fluroxene as 'one of the most dramatic examples of misleading evidence from animal data'.

(27) Aspirin fails animal tests, as does digitalis (a heart drug), cancer treatments, insulin (causes animal birth defects), penicillin and other safe medicines. They would have been banned if vivisection were heeded.

(28) In the court case when the manufacturers of Thalidomide were being tried, they were acquitted after numerous experts agreed that 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 being awarded 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 thirty-three animals die in laboratories each second worldwide; in the UK, one every four seconds.

(33) The Director of Research Defence Society, (which exists to defend vivisection) was asked if medical prgress could have been acheived without animal use. His written reply was 'I am sure it could be'.


(tips taken from BAVA - British Anti-Vivisection Association)



RELATED LINKS:

- National Anti-Vivisection Society
- The Absurdity of Vivisection
- Stop Animal Tests
- SHAC
- Stop Animal Test - Animal Voice
- PETA - Caring Consumer
- Choose Cruelty Free
- Total Liberation - Activism
- No Vivisezione (italian site)
- Ask Carla - Caring Consumer
- British Heartless Fundation
- The Military's War on Animals

- Adopt a College - Leafleting Project
- Petion Corner at Animal Voice
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