ARAN & IAVS Mark World Day for Animals in Laboratories

Animal Rights Action Network & IAVS marked World Day for Animals in Laboratories with a peaceful education awareness event in Dublin outside the Central Bank. Our members held banners reading 'Ban Primate Experiments in Ireland' and 'Animals Are Not Ours to Experiment On'  whilst others held posters featuring a monkey having his skull experimented on which caught tons of attention.

A commercial animal testing company in the Republic of Ireland greatly increased the number of dogs it used for poisoning tests and developing commercial products in 2006, according to the latest statistics released by the Department of Health (which issues licences to companies and universities to conduct experiments on animals).

In Ireland, the number of dogs subjected to a miserable, short life in barren laboratory conditions had been dropping since 2002. It is therefore grave news that the total number of dogs used in experiments in Irish laboratories increased by a staggering 78% in 2006.

It is of particular concern that only 115 of the dogs experimented on by Universities, Colleges and Commercial companies based in Ireland were used to comply with regulations. Therefore, the other 182 dogs suffered and died FOR NO REASON REQUIRED BY IRISH OR EU LAW.  These dogs die because profit-making companies pay for experiments to be done to help their businesses. In 2006 commercial contract testing companies in Ireland used a total of 8,633 animals in experiments, including, 289 dogs, 169 cats, 168 horses and donkeys, and 260 cattle. An increase of 37% on the number used in 2005.

The total number of animals used in Irish laboratories in 2006 was 73,794 almost double the number used in 2005.

Please get active and help ARAN stop cruelty to animals in Irish laboratories, contact us today