Animals who have no hope of rescue

January 12, 9:16 AMLA Pet Rescue ExaminerKate Woodviolet

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Too small for lethal smoking experiments, this monkey was used to breed more test subjects at Oregon Health and Science University  Photo: vivisectioninfo.org

Usually when you think of the words "pet rescue" you think of dogs, cats, rabbits and other animals abandoned or stray on the streets, or seized from or surrendered by abusive or neglectful owners.
 
But there are thousands of cats, dogs, rabbits, monkeys and more in even greater need of rescue.  Like many others, I was shocked to read this week that the number of animals used in testing in the past seven years has actually risen significantly.   

According to the Humane Society of the United States, a recent USDA report (the first since 2001) shows:

"[A] significant increase in the numbers of some animals used in research in the U.S:

• The number of primates used for research in 2007 (69,990) represents an 11 percent increase from 2006 and a 29 percent increase from 2001
• The number of dogs used for research increased 8 percent from 2006 to 2007, to 72,037 individuals
• The number of animals used in research that caused unrelieved pain and/or distress to the animals increased 5 percent from 2006 to 2007, to 77,766 animals" 
   

If people knew the torturous cost to mice would Botox be so popular?  Photo: Humane Society of the U.S.

 It's horrifying to think that there are over seventy thousand dogs alone in testing facilities.  As sad as it is to see the number of dogs in shelters, at least you can hold out hope that some of them will ultimately find a happy home.  But for 72,037 dogs caged in labs there's no hope at all.
 
And while some of this testing is for medical research, which one could argue has some value (although science offers an increasing number of alternatives to animal testing that promise to be as efficacious, or even more so, than animal testing) much of this testing is purely for vanity, such as Allergan's infamous "LD50" test for its top-selling Botox.  LD50 stands for "lethal dose fifty percent," which means for each batch -- yes, each batch -- of Botox, Allergan injects mice with varying concentrations of Botox, a paralyzing agent, and waits to see how many of the mice die in three to four days.  As you can imagine, a mouse injected in the abdomen with fatal dose of a paralyzing agent dies of suffocation, and if the dose is comparatively low the mouse can linger for days before it's finally killed by a lab technician.  The "successful" concentration, the dosage that kills fifty percent of the mice in three to four days, is the dose that makes it to dermatologists' offices to be injected into the brows of, including others, Angelenos, many of whom have no idea the fear, pain and death of living creatures that has gone into each needlefull.
 

Small, friendly and trusting, beagles are often used in invasive or highly restrictive tests like this forced-smoking experiment  Photo: CovanceCruelty.com

 
At UCLA monkeys are used to research nicotine addiction.  Although this may sound like a legitimate research subject, since the dangers of nicotine have been well known for decades, it seems a more useful way to combat smoking would be to research how clever marketing and the manipulation of nicotine levels in cigarettes induce humans to start and then continue doing something they know will kill them (monkeys would never be that silly).  The question of why UCLA hasn't taken this possibly more effective approach to ending smoking, one that wouldn’t involve sacrificing untold numbers of highly intelligent monkeys, can fairly be inferred once one discovers the sponsor of the primate experiments is tobacco giant Philip Morris.
 
Like many animal lovers I had assumed, possibly just hoped, that animal testing was on the decline.  But this USDA report shows thousands of animals are still suffering, without hope, in labs across the country, and in labs very close to home.
 
What can you do?  The internet is a tremendous resource for those hoping to find out which cosmetics and other consumer goods haven't been tested on animals.  Also, remember that you should never advertise a dog, cat or rabbit as "free to a good home."  Class B animal dealers, who sell animals to labs, are very adept at scooping up such "bargain priced" dogs and cats.  They’ve even been known to bring along kids when adopting these animals, to strengthen the deception that this dog, cat or rabbit is destined for a family.  A big-eyed puppy may be the furthest thing in your mind from a moneymaking "thing" but Class B dealers won't be providing a loving home, but instead a cold cage, a lonely, pain- and stress-filled life, and ultimately an anonymous, unlamented death.