Five British Labs Use Horses in Experiments, Claims Animal Right

Fenris

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Five British Labs Use Horses in Experiments, Claims Animal Rights Group
Wed, 04/06/2016 - 3:11pm
Seth Augenstein, Digital Reporter


Five laboratories in the United Kingdom have been using retired racehorses and ponies in medical experiments, an animal-rights group claims.

More than 8,000 experiments were carried out on the animals in 2014, according to Cruelty Free International, a group formerly known as the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection.

The experiments have previously involved applying sources of pain to measure the efficacy of painkillers on the animals. Other potential uses are surgically removing glands and testing different in utero effects on unborn foals, according to the animal-rights group.

However, no allegations of illegality were made by the organization.
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“We believe the public will be horrified to learn that these majestic animals are subjected to such cruel experiments here in the UK,” said Michelle Thew, the chief executive of CFI. “Just as disturbing is the revelations that there are no restrictions regarding where the laboratories can obtain these animals.”

The laboratories – the University of Cambridge, the Royal Veterinary College, the Animal Health Trust, the University of Bristol, and the University of Liverpool – all are able to acquire the horses from private owners, like racing enthusiasts and farmers. This is different than other animals used in UK research, which need to be expressly bred for research purposes.

A University of Cambridge spokesperson released a statement to Laboratory Equipment that the school was in compliance – and had stopped using horses for scientific testing.

"We place good welfare at the center of all our animal research and aim to meet the highest standards,” they stated. "We only use a small number of horses in research, and have used none since those reported in our 2011 Home Office return.

"Animal research plays an essential role in our understanding of health and disease and in the development of new medicines, antibiotics, vaccines and surgical techniques for both human and veterinary medicine," the school added.

Last year, the European Commission rejected a petition that asked for the complete halt of animal testing in the European Union.

In the United States, the number of animals used in experiments that are protected under the Animal Welfare Act has reached a historic low. However, the number of mice and other non-protected animals has grown exponentially over several years.
 

ycbm

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How else are we supposed to find out what the effects are of new drugs to be used on our horses?

Surely no-one would use an expensive to keep animal that is nothing at all like a human to test human medication. It must be for animal medication, probably horse.

Would you rather these clinical trials were carried out in China or India?
 
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Clodagh

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Much as I hate the thought of any animal being used for experiments, the horses nervous system and it's feeling of pain is the same as monkeys/rats/dogs/mice/ all mammals, so the fact that it is a horse is fairly irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.
 

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It's disgraceful isn't it? Doing important scientific research at Vet Schools to make advances in equine veterinary medicine, to extremely high welfare standards. We should ban it totally and drive it all overseas where we can't regulate it. That makes so much sense :)
 

Emily99

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It's disgraceful isn't it? Doing important scientific research at Vet Schools to make advances in equine veterinary medicine, to extremely high welfare standards. We should ban it totally and drive it all overseas where we can't regulate it. That makes so much sense :)

They don't have barns of ex-racehorses etc. This will also include things they do do such as extra tests on bloods initially taken for diagnostic reasons etc.
 

JFTDWS

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They don't have barns of ex-racehorses etc. This will also include things they do do such as extra tests on bloods initially taken for diagnostic reasons etc.

I doubt it - far more than 5 labs in the UK will use equine blood / tissue. Five using live horses sounds about right to me. I wonder if it also includes CAL / biomechanic research.

Though I'm not really sure why you've quoted me as your post carries no relation to mine.
 

hibshobby

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How on earth do you think the vaccines for tetanus and equine flu were developed and manufactured ? So they use horses, so what ? Humans are used for clinical trials too.
 

JFTDWS

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How on earth do you think the vaccines for tetanus and equine flu were developed and manufactured ? So they use horses, so what ? Humans are used for clinical trials too.

Plus any potential vaccines for other equine conditions (foal pneumonia, infectious anaemia etc). The Lees trials into bute toxicity in ponies were done at the RVC in the 80s and they're pretty important re safe dosing etc. There are any number of incredibly important studies which require live equine subjects. Nobody likes it, but there's no alternative.
 

MagicMelon

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I dont agree in animal testing personally. Yes, once it gets to a certain level then they can conduct trials but these should be IMO as straight forward as human trialling new drugs - not cutting up pieces of live animal or doing horrific pain-causing things to them (which we do not do to humans). I dont know how anyone could agree with that, would you put your own horses forward for this testing? Doubt it.
 

JFTDWS

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I dont agree in animal testing personally. Yes, once it gets to a certain level then they can conduct trials but these should be IMO as straight forward as human trialling new drugs - not cutting up pieces of live animal or doing horrific pain-causing things to them (which we do not do to humans). I dont know how anyone could agree with that, would you put your own horses forward for this testing?

No but I have used animals in research. Not horses, but I could have, if I'd continued in that field. It's incredibly difficult to get in vivo research licensed - there are ethical boards to consider, and funding which will only be available for expensive live animal work if the research is really likely to be useful. Nobody does it for fun, or because they get a kick out of causing pain to animals for no reason...
 

ycbm

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I dont agree in animal testing personally. Yes, once it gets to a certain level then they can conduct trials but these should be IMO as straight forward as human trialling new drugs - not cutting up pieces of live animal or doing horrific pain-causing things to them (which we do not do to humans). I dont know how anyone could agree with that, would you put your own horses forward for this testing? Doubt it.

Do you believe that they use an animal as expensive and difficult to keep as a horse when it isn't essential?
 

Ditchjumper2

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The majority of drugs that keep people alive were tested on animals...that is how it works. I for one, would not be here otherwise. There is no alternative and as long as it is conducted correctly and rigourously checked I do not see the problem. How else do you think it works?
 

stencilface

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I hate it, bit accept t in the UK with high standards for medical treatment research.

I try my hardest to avoid giving money to ANY companies using animals for cosmetics.
 

ester

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I bet it does include use for gait testing etc- many of which are student projects. They also provide handling experience for students and as on site blood donors when required. I did my PhD at bristol and they were perfectly happy normal horses with regular turnout. I can't think of any horrific pain causing things they were involved in.
They use pigs quite a bit too as piglets are the best substitute for human neonates and given how intelligent they are I'd see them on a par.
 
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MotherOfChickens

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and don't forget, that these experimental horses won't be kept individually, won't have food withheld like those poor sods kept in stables with no hay from midnight, will have space (barns or paddocks), shelter and not kept in mud pits. The are not permitted to be lame/snotty/have a temp and then not have a vet called out 'to see how they do'. Better kept than quite a lot of privately kept horses I have seen on forums and FB in the last few months.

And generally speaking, if a study is looking at a new type of painkiller, it would be tested against the existing gold standard painkiller-not the absence of painkiller if the pain is expected to be anything other than very low (ie the sort of pain that some would give 1/2 bute for and then go riding).
 

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It is true that ponies are supplied sometimes to research institutes - there was a big hoo-ha here in Manchester 3 or 4 years ago as they were going to PTS at the end of the tests and were young animals (under 4yo). I think all were taken by a local sanctuary. In universities, every last mouse required has to be accounted for when research funding is being sought and the numbers used has dropped dramatically over the years. People who work in research labs haven't got TIME to torment animals or be cruel and most invasive procedures are carried out under anaesthetic and the animal euthanized if necessary before it comes round. The animals have to be kept healthy before the testing begins as they don't want the outcome of the tests to be corrupted by external factors. I don't particularly like the use of animals for experiments, but accept that it is a necessary evil and don't see it as any worse than the average farm animals' life. What I do object to is the use of animals for cosmetic testing. But I bet 90% of the population doesn't give a single thought about that when they buy the shampoo that gives them the bounciest hair, or glossiest lips. I've volunteered for low some level medical research over the years. The most painful paid a vets bill and I still have the scars to show for it! Some animals are donated to veterinary colleges and become invaluable in potential saving the lives of others. I used to refer to my own mare as a lab rat because she was treated with a drug that wasn't licenced for horses and now others have been given the same chance of a life as a result of her success.
 

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There was a similar post on the forum a few months ago. I wrote that there were horses who were used in experiments and then PTS afterwards and also horses used for the same purpose for research. I was shot down in flames by a number of users and told that this simply didn't happen anymore and that I had made things up.

I gave up trying to explain in the end......you can't win with some people.

Only yesterday I came across the article I was trying to provide and couldn't find, for the last debate. All horses were euthanized after twelve months of the study following the procedure for ethyl fusion/chemical arthrodesis.
 

ester

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The ones PTS would usually be those that you needed to PM afterwards in order to investigate whether something had actually worked as imaging can only go so far.
 

fburton

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Only yesterday I came across the article I was trying to provide and couldn't find, for the last debate. All horses were euthanized after twelve months of the study following the procedure for ethyl fusion/chemical arthrodesis.
Is that the one you posted about last month? (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16649921)

Sadly this study would have been considerably poorer if it hadn't included the gross tissue examination and histology.
 

MotherOfChickens

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There was a similar post on the forum a few months ago. I wrote that there were horses who were used in experiments and then PTS afterwards and also horses used for the same purpose for research. I was shot down in flames by a number of users and told that this simply didn't happen anymore and that I had made things up.

I gave up trying to explain in the end......you can't win with some people.

Only yesterday I came across the article I was trying to provide and couldn't find, for the last debate. All horses were euthanized after twelve months of the study following the procedure for ethyl fusion/chemical arthrodesis.

experimental animals are generally euthanased after a study it's true-the emphasis being on humanely euthanased. Some horses will be too as there are very strict rules about accountability etc in testing and some have to be for PM data. But afaik for those in efficacy/drug testing for wormers etc, many are rehomed-and these would be hill ponies that might have spent months going round bottom end sales rings etc.


every time there is a scare/threat about some midge-borne disease, posters are up in arms that 'scientists' havent come up with a vaccine yet. If it ever came to pass that the threat became a real one you can bet your life 'scientists' will be blamed and it will be 'scientists' that come up with the answer-if they're allowed to bloody test on the species they are trying to help.

Arguably there are diseases of horses in the UK whereby research has definitely been handicapped by not using a horse model-or another animal model of some sort. Noone's had the stomach to do it quite apart from the fact noone's had the money.
 

applecart14

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Last couple of years I have been bloody grateful for veterinary research. Grateful to the extent I organised a fund raiser to help.

I am not against animal experimentation in some forms.

If animals were not experimented on many of us would not be alive today, most probably me included. So whilst I am not against animal experimentation for medical purposes, the use of animals for putting shampoo in their eyes and other make up, etc is totally irrelevant and unnecessary in my book.

Horses used for experimentation will benefit other horses and for that reason it is a good thing.
 
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