A dental study on six black labradors is in the process of taking place at Gothenburg University, Sweden. The dogs have to be killed in order to assess the success of the process being tested. They had a third of their teeth pulled and replaced with human dental implants. There is uproar at the animal testing.
A protest has been held outside the University. A petition with more than 80,000 signatures has been handed in. The petition was organised by the Animal Rights Alliance, the Swedish organisation.
In Sweden animal testers have to demonstrate that there is no alternative to animal testing. And they have to seek approval from the animal ethics committee at the Swedish Board of Agriculture.
Gothenburg University say that they follow all guidelines and that the welfare of the animals are monitored by veterinarians to ensure as few animals as possible are used.
The Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research said:
“It’s difficult for us to reach a consensus on these issues but dialogue is important. As we said, animal experiments are still needed in some kind of research, to develop new medicines and treatment methods and gain basic knowledge.”
Mark Collins a veterinarian told TV4 that labradors form close bonds with their human companions. These dogs would be left emotionally broken, he said.
Children have sent in pictures with dogs pleading for the dogs’ lives. There have been hundreds of offers to adopt the dogs. We await the outcome. Ricky Gervais the comedian and Peter Egan the actor have backed the campaign. It’s also been joined by British activists from the Animal Justice Project.
