Lab Ponies Rescued - Happy Ending :)

How nice to see a proper reasoned debate on here about animal testing. Having worked in pharmaceutical industry for 25 years I can confirm that animals are treated with utmost kindness and concern - apart from anything else stressed animals give false results! Anyone seen treated the animals ( mostly rodents) with anything other than respect and kindness would have been sacked instantly.
As others have said, it is likely that the ponies were used for the testing of equine medicines. How else can they know the effects on foals if not tested on foals. That is why some wormers for instance are specifically marked as not for use on animals under a certain age. Sadly these ponies were probably destined for slaughter anyway due to overbreeding.
 
Loving the responses on here and people's sensible points of view.

As an animal lover I hate to think of any animal in pain, suffering or subject to any form of cruelty. That said however, understand the importance to animal testing for live saving drugs, vaccines and medicines. I know that in the long term it is the lesser of two evils and the outcomes could not be acheived without this sort of testing. There surely cannot be one person on this forum that hasn't used a medicine at some point in their lives and if they really thought about it at the time, they would be aware of where it came from. Like others have said, the UK has very strict laws and legislation for protecting animals in such conditions and therefore they are properly cared for.

What I do NOT agree with is testing cosmetics, make up and air fresheners (yes air fresheners - it's a huge animal testing process) on animals, I do not see how this is nessessary or justified. I'm sure there would be plenty of people willing to test cometics for a small sum of money and therefore there is no need to test them on innocent animals. This is what The Body Shop does and that's why I am so forthcoming to shop there. Last year I watched a documentary on animal testing for cosmetics and it was horrific, therefore I vowed to try my very best to avoid using anything that isn't listed on the PETA website as 'not tested on animals'. Mostly, it is the companies who sell their products in China that test on animals, the documentary was showing the labs in China where they don't have the same care or legislation for the animals as EU countries. It was down right cruel and I felt sick - big companies you wouldn't expect, designer perfumes etc.

On the upside, the UK supermarkets came off really well with their own branded cosmetics. That's because they only sell their products in the UK and not China, therefore the big names such as Asda, Tesco, Waitrose, Morrisons and Sainsbury's don't test their cosmetics on animals at all. From then on I only bought supermarket brand shampoo, shower gel and bubblebath. A long way off changing the world in terms of animal testing I know, however the big animal testing companies now have one less customer and I can have a guilt free bath :)
 
Cheshire Chestnut said:
Mostly, it is the companies who sell their products in China that test on animals, the documentary was showing the labs in China where they don't have the same care or legislation for the animals as EU countries. It was down right cruel and I felt sick - big companies you wouldn't expect, designer perfumes etc.
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In China its a legal requirement for cosmetics to be tested on animals, isn't it?
 
Lots of for's and against's on here, predictably so.

I read the article in the Daily Fail: and was very disappointed TBH with the emotive language used, i.e. fluffy-bunny language basically.

The ponies didn't exactly look like they'd been "neglected"...... they had good weight on and nice shiney coats. So obviously not RSPCA cases.

I don't agree with some kinds of animal testing: however anyone on here who's ever taken ANY sort of pill or tablet, prescription or otherwise, has to accept that this will, at some stage of its development, have been tested on animals. That is the unfortunate truth.

The other thing I will throw in the pot is: worming........ would anyone on here be happy to give their horse(s) a wormer that hadn't been properly, scientifically, evaluated??? Or for the vet to inject them with flu & tet vaccines that weren't properly tested? If the answer is a resounding no, then its no good getting a hanky out when situations like this occur, i.e. ponies being used in a laboratory situation. For what we do not know, but unfortunately this is where science/technology is at the moment, i.e. needing to either use animals for testing purposes and/or to use them as "hosts" to harbour vaccines etc???
 
Must admit my first thought was "Oh God - it's the Daily Mail again - loads of emotive waffle and very little actual information". The info from the actual rescuers was far better.
 
Although I hate diseases like cancer (have lost family members to it).

I do actually believe these sorts of things have there place, people are living much longer lives now days and tbh our care of elderly or people who live long lives is very poor. If things like disease were cured the amount of people reaching old age would surplus to huge volumes of people and standards of care would fall more so. We are already over populated as it is...

Just another take on finding cures via testing.
 
risky business said:
Although I hate diseases like cancer (have lost family members to it).

I do actually believe these sorts of things have there place, people are living much longer lives now days and tbh our care of elderly or people who live long lives is very poor. If things like disease were cured the amount of people reaching old age would surplus to huge volumes of people and standards of care would fall more so. We are already over populated as it is...

Just another take on finding cures via testing.
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It would be difficult to find a cure for my friend's 17 year old daughter who recently died of metastasized bone cancer without helping older people too though, wouldn't it?
 
If I had to choose, I'd far rather take my chances as a lab animal than as a pig or a chicken at the 'economy' end of the meat production system. Or, actually, as a pet (unless I could be one of my pets). Lab animals in the UK have more protection in law than any other group of animals. As people have said already, all that happens if animal testing stops here is that it carries on in other countries which have much poorer legislation and often much lower levels of cultural concern for animals generally. There are currently no viable alternatives to testing in animals.
 
A friend of mine is a vet nurse for Glaxo working with the lab animals, mainly rodents.
The animals want for nothing, having enormous cages and so much provided to keep them happy and stimulated. These are top professionals looking after the animals and they understand far more than most exactly what needs these animals have and make sure that is fulfilled.
I don't understand disagreeing with companies like this that are working on diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, aids and Alzheimer's that affect millions of people many of which just children. It is vital research.
 
When people are selling guinea pig onsies (seriously, it's on the onesiegate thread)
then I would rather be a lab guinea pig on the UK than I would be a pet with people who would even think of buying one.
 
I'm glad these ponies will be given a useful/nice life after he lab has finished with them. I agree though, that animal testing for human medicines is necessary really, although interested to read that these were probably being used for testing equine related products. I certainly wouldn't want to be giving my horse some form of medication that hadn't been fully tested prior to going on the market. I read an article recently that was discussing the current equine flu jab and saying how out of date it is in comparison to the current strains of flu' that are around and that a new vaccine must be developed, this would of course need testing.
I also have to agree with whoever it was that said they may just be a bit feral and not actually frightened - it's very common for yearlings and 2/3yos to be. Kept together in a barn over the winter, if an think of several top riders that do this. At work yesterday I had to move one of the 2 year olds to a new field, he has been handled and taught basic manners but had t had anything done with him since October, and he has turned utterly feral!
It's an interesting topic, but I do think it's very good that this charity exists to give these animals a useful and enjoyable life after their time in laboratories.
 
CaleruxShearer said:
I also have to agree with whoever it was that said they may just be a bit feral and not actually frightened - it's very common for yearlings and 2/3yos to be. Kept together in a barn over the winter, if an think of several top riders that do this. At work yesterday I had to move one of the 2 year olds to a new field, he has been handled and taught basic manners but had t had anything done with him since October, and he has turned utterly feral! .
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Yup, when we picked up our yearling from his breeder he had reverted to type and had decided he was feral. His breeder had turned him away for the summer, that's all. He'd been in overnight for his first winter and had had all the basic handling.....all forgotten. It took a few weeks for him to come round again and now you can't keep the booger out of your pocket.
 
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