Articles
The Writings of Vasu Murti

Does animals testing help human medicine?

33 facts to consider:

1. Less than 2% of human illnesses (1.16%) are ever seen in animals. Over 98% never affect animals.
2. According to the former scientific executive of Huntingdon Life Sciences, animal tests and human results agree "5%-25% of the time."
3. Among the hundreds of techniques available instead of animal experiments, cell culture toxicology methods give accuracy rates of 80-85%
4. 92% of drugs passed by animal tests immediately fail when first tried
   on humans because they’re useless, dangerous or both.
5. The two most common illnesses in the Western world are lung cancer from
   smoking and heart disease. Neither can be reproduced in lab animals.
6. A 2004 survey of doctors in the UK showed that 83% wanted a independent
   scientific evaluation of whether animal experiments had relevance to human
   patients. Less than 1 in 4 (21%) had more confidence in animal tests than
   in non-animal methods.
7. Rats are 37% effective in identifying what causes cancer to humans –
   less use than guessing. The experimenters said: “we would have been
   better off to have tossed a coin."
8. Rodents are the animals almost always used in cancer research. They
   never get carcinomas, the human form of cancer, which affects membranes
   (eg lung cancer). Their sarcomas affect bone and connective tissue: the
   two are completely different.
9. The results from animal tests are routinely altered radically by diet,
   light, noise, temperature, lab staff and bedding. Bedding differences
   caused cancer rates of over 90% and almost zero in the same strain of mice
   at different labs.
10. Sex differences among lab animals can cause contradictory results. This
    does not correspond with humans.
11. 75% of side effects identified in animals never occur.
12. Over half of side effects cannot be detected in lab animals.
13. Vioxx was shown to protect the heart of mice, dogs, monkeys and other
    lab animals. It was linked to heart attacks and strokes in up to 139,000
    humans.
14. Genetically modified animals are not like humans. The mdx mouse is
    supposed to have muscular dystrophy, but the muscles regenerate with no
    treatment.
15. GM animal the CF- mouse never gets fluid infections in the lungs – the
    cause of death for 95% of human cystic fibrosis patients.
16. In America, 106,000 deaths a year are attributed to reactions to
    medical drugs.
17. Each year 2.1 million Americans are hospitalised by medical treatment.
18. In the UK an estimated 70,000 people are killed or severely disabled
    every year by unexpected reactions to drugs. All these drugs have passed
    animal tests.
19. In the UK's House Of Lords questions have been asked regarding why
    unexpected reactions to drugs (which passed animal tests) kill more
    people than cancer.
20. A German doctors' congress concluded that 6% of fatal illnesses and
    25% of organic illness are caused by medicines. All have been animal
    tested.
21. According to a thorough study, 88% of stillbirths are caused by drugs
    which passed animal tests.
22. 61% of birth defects were found to have the same cause.
23. 70% of drugs which cause human birth defects are safe in pregnant
    monkeys.
24. 78% of foetus-damaging chemicals can be detected by one non-animal
    test.
25. Thousands of safe products cause birth defects in lab animals –
    including water, several vitamins, vegetable oils, oxygen and drinking
    waters. Of more than 1000 substances dangerous in lab animals, over 97%
    are safe in humans.
26. One of the most common lifesaving operation (for ectopic pregnancies)
    was delayed 40 years by vivisection.
27. The great Dr. Hadwen noted "had animal experiments been relied
    upon...humanity would have been robbed of this great blessing of
    anaesthesia."
28. Aspirin fails animal tests, as do digitalis (heart drug), cancer drugs, insulin (which causes animal birth defects), penicillin and other safe medicines. They would be banned if vivisection were believed.
29. Blood transfusions were delayed 200 years by animal studies.
30. The polio vaccine was delayed 40 years by monkey tests.
31. 30 HIV vaccines, 33 spinal cord damage drugs, and over 700 treatments for stroke have been developed in animals. None work in humans.
32. Despite many Nobel prizes going to vivisectors, only 45% agree that animal experiments are crucial.
33. The Director of Research Defence Society, (which serves only to defend vivisection) was asked if medical progress could have been achieved without animal use. His written reply was "I am sure it could be."
    

---

No copyright is enforced for education towards ending vivisection. Copy and pass on.

Go on to: Doing Enough for Animals
Return to: Articles