The Death Of Experimental Beagles Can Be Avoided
Beagles are extremely good-natured and trusting dogs. But this quality has made them scapegoats for the pharmaceutical industry.
Of the 65,000 dogs used in scientific experiments in the United States, 96% are beagles. They are not inevitable victims, explain those responsible for the Beagle Freedom Project (BFP) campaign , carried out since 2010 by Animal, Media and Education (ARME), a non-governmental organization based in Los Angeles.
One of the goals of BFP is to legally force the laboratories to release the dogs after they have been used in the experiments, instead of killing them as is being done most of the time.
Some states (California, Minnesota, Connecticut, Nevada and New York) have already passed legislation in this regard. Where this obligation does not exist, ARME tries to reach agreements with research centers to find a new home for the animals.
There are alternatives to animal experimentation
Other objectives of ARME, shared by animal organizations of other countries, are to avoid experiments with animals when they are not essential, to resort to existing alternatives – such as the use of stem cell cultures, human tissues or computer models – and that be investigated in its development.
In a documentary by the French delegation of the animal rights organization PETA you can see how beagles and other breeds of dogs are bred to develop muscular dystrophy, which causes them enormous suffering when walking, swallowing or breathing. This type of experiment, in the opinion of ARME, should be avoided at all costs.
In Spain, Royal Decree 53/2013, which develops the European Union directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes, provides that, after experimentation, animals can be given up for adoption, relocated or returned to their habitat (depending on the species) if their state of health allows it and they do not pose a danger to public health or the environment.
But such a decision is left to the free will of the “competent body”, advised by an ethics committee in animal experimentation. It is therefore not an obligation.
Animal research can increase
On the other hand, in Europe, experiments on animals have been banned in the production of cosmetic ingredients and products, which has been an important step in respecting animal rights.
On the other hand, the increase in safety requirements for the approval of new chemical substances, according to the European regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), may lead to a multiplication of animal tests.
In China, this type of experimentation is not only not prohibited or limited, but it is mandatory, even for cosmetics, which leads companies that aspire to enter this large market to continue using animals in laboratory tests.
