Jain Spirit 2001 12 No 09

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 52

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ENVIRONMENT
KILLER SCIENCE
Diana Lord examines the unnecessary cruelty of animal experiments in the pursuit of 'science'
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HROUGH THE AGES, VARIOUS CULTURES HAVE BELIEVED that God or Nature could be appeased or even bribed by blood-sacrifice. To this end, humans and animals have ended up on many altars. Ritualistic animal-sacrifice continues today, even in India, where one assumes Hinduism would prohibit such practice. It is, however, in sophisticated laboratories around the world that the greatest numbers of animals - millions upon millions - have been and continue to be sacrificed in the name of medical progress for human benefit. Yet the result is that we humans end up as the unwitting guinea pigs who have been harmed seriously or even killed by drugs which have been expensively and extensively tested on animals. It is estimated that one out of every twenty hospital patients has been made ill by drugs. While Thalidomide remains the most dramatically notorious, Chloramphenicol, Eraldin, Opren, Ibufenac, Flosint, Zelmid, Osmosin, Corwin and Clioquinol are just some in a long list that passed toxicity tests on animals but have brought dire results for humans. Conversely, if we were denied the many drugs, which have had negative affects on certain animals, we humans may have had few, if any, useful medications. Those of us who assume that we owe our lives to animal experiments should question whether we might have been helped sooner - and cheaper by the many other means available.
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When we non-scientists venture that vivisection seems flawed, we are easily silenced by the authoritative "me in white coats". When we express sympathy for the laboratory animals subjected to pain, mutilation, incarceration and, increasingly, genetic modification, we are stung by those who wail, "If only you had a dying child, would you spare that lab rat?" The point, surely, is that none of us spared illness (or for that matter death). We each have a stake in medical progress and the price paid for it. We have a right and indeed a duty to ask how well public money is spent. We should know why - in an age when technology provides superior alternatives - our laboratories cling to primitive notions of the animal model.
Viable alternatives such as analytical techniques, cell tissue and organ culture, epidemiology, quantum pharmacology, computers, mathematical models and audio visual-aids are all being used and further researched mainly by dynamic but poorly-funded organisations such as The Humane Research
Jain Spirit June-August 2001
Trust. Hardly a month goes by without front-page announcements about promising cures from the commercial giants of drug research. A recent example: "Adults will be able to grow new teeth in the near future, according to researchers after studies.... on mice!" Our media seldom keep us abreast of such claims. The researchers rarely say, "Watch this space!" They are often quiet till the next rodent-inspired "breakthrough".
Thanks to BSE or Mad Cow Disease, people seem more questioning about what they eat. We should be equally alert to Bad Scientist Disease that causes billions to be spent on "research" or "Life Sciences". Take cancer research, which
relative to the billions invested has provided few worthwhile results and death rates continue to rise. Any improvements in cancer detection and cures have been provided by alternatives to animal experiments. Many experts maintain that little relevant knowledge can be
"Often, the side effects of drugs are nearly as bad as the ills they cure.
obtained from animal studies, because malign animal tumours are not the same as cancer in humans. Despite the controversy, thousands of experiments involving the deliberate inducement of cancer in animals are undertaken. Radiation poisoning is another area where inter-species variability make the extrapolation of results near impossible. We differ from one another in our reaction to food and drugs within our own species or between the sexes, let alone in comparison with other species. Often, the side effects of many drugs are nearly as bad as the ills they "cure". Laboratory animals may display signs of extreme physical reactions but they cannot say they are suffering headaches, nausea or joint aches.
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Let's accept personal responsibility for some of our diseases. Apart from the lottery of genetic inheritance or bad luck, many of us can control our eating, drinking, smoking and living habits. Remember - after all the animal experiments - no cure has been found for diabetes. Insulin is only a treatment. But sensible diet and exercise are crucial factors. The growth-promoters and various anti-biotics used in intensive farming may also be contributing to obesity and various cancers. So cut out or eat less meat. Buy Free Range or organic produce when you do.