Definition

Originally, vivisection was defined as the surgical cutting of a living animal in scientific research. Now, vivisection is used to define any type of animal research.

# of Animals

It's estimated that 27 million animals are used in testing, research and education.

The Animal Welfare Act requires that laboratories report the number of animals used in experiments. Unfortunately, the Act doesn't cover birds, mice and rats which comprise approximately 80% of all studies. So, we can only guess at the actual number of animals that suffer and die each year at the hand of vivisectors.

Funders of Pain

Q: Who pays for this research?

A:

National Institute of Health (NIH) - Gives approximately $5 billion worth of grants for tests and experiments involving animals.

Department of Defense (DOD) - In 1993, spent $180 million and used 553,000 animals.

Private Institutions/Companies - Fund experiments which involve:

--pumping their products into the stomachs of live animals

--rubbing their products into (human inflicted) abrasions on live animals' skin

--forcing the animals to inhale aerosol products

--squirting their liquid products into live animals' eyes

Charities - Use citizens donations to fund experiments on animals too! I'll mention a few:

American Cancer Society

American Heart Association

March of Dimes

Shriners Burns Institutes

Ignorant Science

The physiological differences between mice, birds, dogs, pigs and humans are so large that a test which shows a particular substance to be SAFE in mice, dogs, etc., may be HARMFUL or FATAL in humans.
(See Table at Bottom of Page)

Useless Experiments

Experimenters, funded by the March of Dimes, sewed newborn kittens' eyes shut for a year and then killed them. This was to show that depriving cats of normal vision alters brain development.

Shriners Burns Institutes and Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children conducted experiments in which rats were scalded over 20% of their bodies by immersing them in boiling water. Mice were burned with a gas flame. Then, their livers and other organs were removed for study.

American Cancer Society induced excruciatingly painful stomach ulcers in monkeys. They left these ulcers untreated and forced the very social monkeys to live in isolation, alone during a 12 month study.

Good Science

Sophisticated non-animal research methods are more accurate, less expensive and less time consuming than animal-based research methods. Who says? The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

The money spent on these cruel and inaccurate research methods would be much better spent on providing healthcare to the 35 million people in the U.S. who cannot afford it.

It might not be the end-all solution, but it makes more sense than using that money for inflicting unimaginable pain, suffering and death on innocent animals.

Quote

"I abhor vivisection. It should at least be curbed. Better, it should be abolished. I know of no achievement through vivisection, no scientific discovery that could not have been obtained without such barbarism and cruelty. The whole thing is evil."

~~Dr. Charles Mayo -- founder of the Mayo Clinic

Some drugs that tested SAFE on animals - that INJURED and/or KILLED humans:

Drug

Type/For

Caused

Urethane

Leukemia

Cancer of liver, lungs & bone marrow

Clioquinol

Diarrhea

Blindness, paralysis, death

Amydopyrine

Pain Killer

Blood disease

Phenformin

Diabetes

1000 deaths annually until removed from market

Plaxin & Pronap

Tranquilizer

Many infant deaths

Trilergen

Allergies

Viral Hepatitis