Everything you do counts...  

For too many years to count animals have been used to test out products and medications for the sake of humanity. Far are the days that humans were used to run tests. We decided to use animals instead. Now, I for one do not agree with the atrocities that humans underwent in the name of science, but I do not think that it is fair that we use animals in the same way, even today. But how much of this testing is really for medication and cures for illnesses and disease?

Well, according to Inside HLS, not too much. Apparently Huntingdon Life Sciences thinks it is acceptable to line their pockets with blood money for the sake of making progress, but in reality they are not testing on animals to save humans from disease or help find medications that can help fight off conditions, they are testing on anything that comes their way - most of which are diet pills, impotency medication, food products and cleaning supplies - all things that are not in my opinion worth the cost of the many animal lives that have been taken.

According to Inside HLS, more than 9 million lives have been snuffed out in the name of research. But how many life-saving medical breakthroughs have Huntingdon been responsible for? The sad fact is the many lives lost were due to testing on such things as the toxicity testing of chemicals (like floor coverings), pesticides (like Monsanto's weed-killer that poisons our food supply), pharmaceuticals (like diet-drugs), food additives (caramel food coloring is one of many), and dreaded genetically modified foods. HLS is putting products onto the market that cause cancer, cause high-blood pressure and heart disease, cause people adverse reactions when taking these drugs, and destroy our earth and its creatures.



For those that are brave enough to read below, here is an article from www.insidehls.com:

A Splenda Way to Die!

In a time when obesity has seen a dramatic increase, diabetes is plaguing more and more children, and doctors are warning people to cut down on their sugars, sugar giant Tate and Lyle, with the aid of McNeil Specialty Products (a division of Johnson and Johnson) came up with a sweetener 600 times more potent than real sugar! Now where do you think you go to test "safe" a product as "important" Sucralose (also called Splenda in the US) – Huntingdon Life Sciences, of course.

Huntingdon played a big role in the testing that took place to bring this garbage product to the market. An estimated 12,800 animals died in the process according to a published report in a recent scientific journal.

Some of the more gruesome details revealed:

• 32 beagle dogs were locked in metal cages for 52 weeks. They were given Sucralose mixed in with their normal feed, and blood and urine samples were collected. At the end of the study they were killed by means of exsanguiation - they had their throats slit open and bled to death. They were then cut open and their organs - by now drained of blood so easier to dissect - were examined to test the product's toxicity levels.
• Four beagle puppies (or as HLS calls them – punching bags) were starved before being force-fed the super-sweet sugar powder. HLS employees then took blood samples from the jugulars of the infant dogs.
• An unspecified number of marmoset monkeys either died from the poisoning or were killed at the termination of the research at HLS.
• The report states that 12 of these monkeys, which were babies – under 10 months old – were force-fed Sucralose for seven weeks. Two of the primates died on the seventh day from brain defects, another primate was mysteriously killed after four weeks, and the remainder all were murdered at the completion of the seventh week. Some of the recorded observations from this study noted "in appetence, body weight loss, unwillingness to use hind leg, hopping, involuntary grip reflexes, salivation and subdued mood."
• Huntingdon also used rabbits to study the effects of the product. These little animals were given 1200 times the expected daily intake and not surprisingly most died from the trauma. Many of the other rabbits suffered from convulsions, weight loss, and various intestinal disorders.
• Huntingdon also tested the product on pregnant rabbits, mice, and rats – killing both the mothers and the fetuses.

All in all, just another customer-sponsored project at HLS. All this pain and death for the sake of bringing to the market a sweetener that can make your ice-cream or jam 600 times sweeter. This sort of testing really should give you pause to think, and possibly send off a thank you note to HLS for all the important contributions they are making to the world.


How many animals does HLS use?

HLS kills approximately 180,000 animals every year, or 500 per day. Average numbers of specific animals are as follows (yearly):
Dogs (2600);
Cats (400);
Rodents (132,894);
Rabbits (5106);
Fish (10,300);
Birds (7800);
Primates (1700);
other animals (19200).

These figures were obtained by averaging out the number of animals listed in USDA reports and other published reports from other overseers and government regulatory agents, over the past few years.

It is estimated that, at any one time, there are 70,000 animals imprisoned at HLS waiting to die.

What laws exist to protect laboratory animals?

Laws protecting "laboratory animals" are very limited in the U.S. The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) is the most commonly cited legal protection given to animals in labs. However, the AWA is not an provision designed specifically for "lab animals." It is designed to provide (minimal) protection for all animals, as defined by the Act as, "…any live or dead dog, cat, monkey (nonhuman primate mammal), guinea pig, hamster, rabbit, or such other warm-blooded animal, as the Secretary may determine is being used, or is intended for use, for research, testing, experimentation, or exhibition purposes or as a pet; but such term excludes horses not used for research purposes and other farm animals, such as, but not limited to livestock or poultry, used or intended for use as food or fiber, or livestock or poultry used or intended for improving animal nutrition, breeding, management or production efficiency, or for improving the quality of food or fiber. With respect to a dog the term means all dogs including those used for hunting, security, or breeding purposes."

Additionally, the AWA merely regulates adequate food, water, housing, exercise, and veterinary care; it places no restrictions whatsoever on what can be done to animals during actual experiments. The following provision ensures this: "Nothing in these rules, regulations, or standards shall affect or interfere with the design, outline, or performance of actual research or experimentation by a research facility as determined by such research facility."

Furthermore, under the Animal Welfare Act rats, mice, birds, fish, and farm animals (which comprise 85-90% of the animals used in "research" are not considered animals and hence are not afforded even the minimal protection of the AWA.

How can I be sure that I'm not supporting HLS? What products can I boycott?

Because HLS is a CRO, any company can hire HLS to test its products, and HLS's customers have included some of the largest pharmaceutical, chemical, and cosmetic companies in the world. The only way to ensure that you are not using products that were tested at HLS is to boycott all companies that test on animals. You can get a list of companies that do not test on animals by contacting:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA) offers a regularly updated, wallet sized shopping guide to companies and products that are not tested on animals. Contact them at: PeTA, 501 Front Street, Norfolk, VA, 23510, 757.622.PETA http://www.peta.org/
SHAC USA is not affiliated in any way with PeTA

By boycotting companies that test on animals, you not only ensure that your money is not going to HLS, but also that your dollars are not being used by *any* company to experiment on animals.

UPDATE: New petitions have been created to hopefully convince a shut down of Huntingdon Life Sciences facilities (looks like at least in the UK).

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/shut-down-huntingdon-life-sciences=

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/close-huntingdon-life-sciences.html


Source: www.insidehls.com