O horror da experimentao animal.

Apenas h uns anos atrs, todas as empresas de cosmticos envenenavam animais com bton,
champs, sprays para cabelos ou outros produtos de beleza. Os produtores de carros batiam
nas cabeas de macacos com martelos hidrulicos para simular acidentes. Os tcnicos de
laboratrios matavam um coelho de cada vez que aziam o teste de !ravidez de uma mulher. As
tabaqueiras obri!avam c"es a inalar quantidades enormes de umo de tabaco para testar a sua
to#icidade. $stes testes eram considerados muito eicazes. Actualmente, devido % aten"o e %
preocupa"o dos consumidores e % criatividade de cientistas, e#istem testes melhores e mais
humanos.
&''()'*)+, ---.animal.or!
A violncia brutal da experimentao animal
.ma!ine que o seu corpo est a ser usado com ins cient/icos... consi!o ainda l dentro. .sso o
que acontece aos milh0es de animais que s"o anualmente usados na cruel, dispendiosa e
en!anadora ind1stria da e#perimenta"o animal. 2esta ind1stria, um animal morre a cada *
se!undos, num laboratrio europeu3 a cada & se!undos, num laboratrio 4apon5s3 a cada
se!undo, num laboratrio norte)americano. 6 no 7eino 8nido, quase * milh0es de animais s"o
mortos anualmente em laboratrios.
---.animal.or!
A experimentao animal anticientifica. Para alm de serem cruis, os testes
com animais levam frequentemente a becos sem sada quanto s concluses a que
conduzem, impedindo o progresso cientfico. Pegar em seres saudveis de espcies
diferentes da nossa, induzir-lhes artificialmente determinados problemas de sade,
mant!-los em condi"es anti-naturais e causadoras de grande press#o psquica, e
depois tentar aplicar os $resultados% destes procedimentos aos humanos raramente
funciona. &s interac"es fisiol'gicas variam grandemente de espcie para espcie.
O progresso da cincia e a substituio da crueldade ( laborat'rio Pharmagene,
situado em )o*ston +,nglaterra-, por e.emplo, usa tecidos humanos e sofisticadas
tecnologias informticas / e nenhum animal / para desenvolver e testar frmacos e
outros qumicos. 0os 12&, a Ph*siome 3ciences desenvolve modelos informticos
tridimensionais de 'rg#os humanos, que revelam as mesmas propriedades biofsicas
tanto de clulas normais como de clulas doentes, quer para uso em testes de
frmacos e outros qumicos quanto para a investiga"#o mdica.
Alternatives: Testing Without Torture
,n the near future, laboratories might be hanging signs outside their doors sa*ing, $0o admittance to rats and
rabbits.% &lternatives to animal tests are efficient and reliable, both for cosmetics and household product tests
and for medical research. ,n most cases, non-animal methods ta4e less time to complete, cost onl* a fraction of
5hat the animal e.periments the* replace cost, and are not plagued 5ith species differences that ma4e
e.trapolation difficult or impossible.
Products Without Pain
Pharmagene 6aboratories, based in )o*ston, 1ngland, is the first compan* to use onl* human tissues and
sophisticated computer technologies in the process of drug development and testing. 7ith tools from molecular
biolog*, biochemistr*, and anal*tical pharmacolog*, Pharmagene conducts e.tensive studies of human genes
and ho5 drugs affect these genes or the proteins the* ma4e. 7hile some companies have used animal tissues
for this purpose, Pharmagene scientists believe that the discover* process is much more efficient 5ith human
tissues. $,f *ou have information on human genes, 5hat8s the point of going bac4 to animals9% sa*s Pharmagene
cofounder :ordon ;a.ter.+<-
,nstead of dripping chemicals into animals= e*es to test to.icit*, researchers can no5 gro5 a thin la*er of cells on
a membrane and monitor changes in electrical resistance in the cells as the* are e.posed to test chemicals.+>-
&von Products, ,nc., 5hich until ?une of <@A@ 4illed about >B,CCC animals a *ear to test its products, no5 uses
man* non-animal tests, including the ,rritation &ssa* 3*stem +formerl* 4no5n as 1*te. and 34inte.- and an in
vitro test used to assess irritanc* levels of substances. ,t mimics the reaction of the cornea and human s4in 5hen
e.posed to foreign substances and can be used to determine the to.icit* of more than D,CCC different materials.
Eorrosite. is an in vitro test approved b* the Fepartment of Gransportation as a substitute for the traditional
rabbit s4in test. Ghe test assesses corrosivit* using a protein membrane designed to function li4e s4in. Ghe
method gives results in Hust a fe5 hours for as little as I<CC per test.+J-
Ghree companies have developed artificial $human s4in% 5hich can be used in s4in grafts for burn victims and
other patients and can replace animals in product tests.+B-
3cientists can also use mathematical and computer models, based on ph*sical and chemical structures and
properties of a substance, to ma4e predictions about the to.icit* of a substance. (ne such soft5are pac4age,
G(PK&G, 5hich predicts oral to.icit* and s4in and e*e irritation, is used b* the Lood and Frug &dministration
+LF&-, the 1nvironmental Protection &genc* +1P&-, and the 2.3. &rm*.
2sing computers, scientists have built an accurate 5or4ing model of a human heart that 5ill allo5 researchers to
test ne5 treatments electronicall* before the* are attempted on humans. Eomputerized $virtual organs% predict
ho5 drugs 5ill be absorbed and metabolized, so drug companies can no5 test the effects of substances
electronicall* before ever tr*ing them on a person.
(ther to.icological test 4its allo5 drugma4ers and cosmetics manufacturers to run tests that indicate 5hether the
compounds used in products 5ill cause cancer or other medical problems. 2sing integrated molecular assa*
s*stems that sho5 ho5 human and animal bacterial cells react 5hen e.posed to various compounds, the 4its
allo5 manufacturers to test thousands of potentiall* to.ic compounds a *ear more quic4l* and cheapl* than the
compounds could be tested through the use of animals.+D-
edical Applications
,n medicine, perhaps the most informative research ta4es place not in test tubes, but in hospitals and clinics and
the offices of statisticians and epidemiologists. Elinical surve*s, human volunteers, case studies, autops*
reports, and statistical anal*ses permit far more accurate observation and use of actual environmental factors
related to human disease than is possible 5ith animals confined in laboratories, 5ho contract diseases in
conditions vastl* different from the situations that confront humans. 6ong before the famous $smo4ing beagle%
e.periments began, statisticians and epidemiologists 4ne5 that cigarette smo4ing caused cancer in humans, *et
programs to 5arn people about the hazards of smo4ing 5ere dela*ed 5hile more animal tests 5ere carried out
+to the satisfaction of the tobacco industr*- and proved $inconclusive.%
Time and one!
0on-animal tests are generall* faster and less e.pensive than the animal tests the* replace and improve upon.
+M-
,n cancer studies, animal tests of a single substance ma* ta4e four to eight *ears and cost IBCC,CCC or more,
5hereas short-term non-animal studies cost as little as I>CC-IB,CCC and can be completed in Hust da*s. Ghe
dangers of 5aiting *ears for results of animal tests are apparentN ,n <@AD, the 1P& determined that three animal
tests had not sho5n a sufficient degree of danger in the pesticide &lar, and it called on the manufacturer to
conduct still more cancer studies on animals. 0o5, *ears later, these studies are still incomplete. &lthough the
1P& has pulled &lar from the mar4et, non-animal tests 5ould have ta4en a matter of da*s or months, not *ears,
and could have meant that fe5er consumers 5ould have come into contact 5ith &lar-treated products.
"earning to #elp Without #arming
Oore and more medical students are becoming conscientious obHectors, and man* students no5 graduate
5ithout having used animalsP instead, the* learn b* assisting e.perienced surgeons. ,n :reat ;ritain, it is against
the la5 for medical students to practice surger* on animals, and man* of the leading 2.3. medical schools,
including Qarvard, Rale, and 3tanford, no5 use innovative, clinical teaching methods instead of old-fashioned
animal laboratories. Qarvard, for instance, offers a Eardiac &nesthesia Practicum, 5here students observe
human heart b*pass operations instead of dog labs.
oving $or%ard
Professor Oichael ;alls, head of the 1uropean Eentre for the Salidation of &lternative Oethods +1ES&O-, sa*s,
$Oan* regulators feel more comfortable 5ith animal tests, even 5ith tests that are 4no5n to be unreliable and of
questionable relevance.%+T-
Lor scientific, health, ethical, and economic reasons, researchers and regulators must s5itch their focus to non-
animal tests, and the large number of animal e.periments that are conducted more out of $curiosit*% or habit,
rather than out of a real need for information, should be eliminated at once.
What &ou 'an (o
U ,f *ou o5n stoc4 in a compan* that conducts animal tests, introduce a shareholder resolution
opposing the use of animals.
U &s4 the LF& to stop requiring cruel and obsolete animal tests for pharmaceuticals and allo5
companies to substitute in vitro tests.
)eferences
<. )euters, $;ritish Eompan* Pioneers 0on-&nimal Gests,% >@ &ug. <@@M.
>. $0e5 Go.icit* Gest Fesigned to 3pare 6aborator* &nimals,% Orlando Sentinel, >J &ug. <@@M.
J. 7ade )oush, $Qunting for &nimal &lternatives,% Science, << (ct. <@@M, p. <MA.
B. 6a5rence O. Lisher, $J Eompanies 3peed &rtificial 34in,% The New York Times, <> 3ep. <@@C.
D. Favid &lgeo, $;ig Plans on Gap for Venometri.,% Denver Post, <A (ct. <@@M.
M. ;arnab* ?. Leder, $;e*ond 7hite )ats and )abbits,% The New York Times, >A Leb. <@AA, 3ec. J, p. <.
T. 3helle* O. Eol5ell, $&lternative &ction,% Soap/Cosmetics/Chemical Specialties, <@ (ct. <@@M, p. DM.