Do you test on any animals?

Question: Do you test on any animals?

Asked by christiecook to Claire, Greg, Jane, Jo, Nuruz, Vicki on 14 Jun 2010 in Categories: About. This question was also asked by hollymallery, thetractors, zeydee, xxsozxx11, ashleys, coolalo, iforgot.
- Vicki Onions answered on 13 Jun 2010:
  
  Hi there,
  My work is based on research into the sheep ovary – we use the sheep as a model for human ovary function and development as sheep ovaries are very similar to the human ovary in terms of size, shape and composition. For the vast majority of my work where I work with actual ovaries, I go and collect ovaries from a local abattoir (where animals are put down and processed for human meat consumption). In the abattoir, the sheep’s reproductive tracts are not used and usually are just thrown away. So basically i go to the abattoir in my white coat and wellies and i collect ovaries from the wasted reproductive tracts. (I have to say, this is not the most glamorous part of my job!!) In this way, we can do a great deal of very useful work without animals being specifically used for the purpose.
  Having said that, however there are points in my line of work where it becomes essential to use animals. For example I can perform a range of tests in the lab to suggest whether various cells in the ovary are still working, however we would never know whether the ovary could function as a working organ until it was transplanted back into the animal (in just the way as it would be done when used in human medicine).
  Working with animals in research is, however, only carried out when absolutely necessary. It is time consuming and costly. Working with animals in the UK is very strictly regulated, and quite rightly too, by the home office. The work itself has to be proved to be justifiable and essential research, using the minimum number of animals and has to conform very very tighly to very specific guidelines.
  If you want any more information on the use of animals in research, look up “The Animals Scientific Procedures Act 1986” on google or look at http://www.nc3rs.org.uk which has a good link to information for young people.
- Claire O'Donnell answered on 14 Jun 2010:
  
  No. Personally I couldn’t do this sort of thing. I was offered a PhD project that was looking at ways of treating coldsores but that involved rabbits 🙁 and I couldn’t do it. I though that there werre probably enough things to trest cold sores already. I guess there might be some really important medical breakthroughs that need some animal work. I think they should be kept to a minimum and I certainly don’t think that we should be allowed to test stuff like cosmetics and household cleaners on animals! Who cares if we have another brand of floor cleaner!!!!
- Greg FitzHarris answered on 14 Jun 2010:
  
  Hi Christie,
  
  We do most of our experiments using mouse eggs. We have to do this because you cant get eggs from (human) women without quite serious surgery and so it is illegal in England for women to donate eggs for research experiments (quite rightly so). So we use mouse eggs because they are like human eggs in many ways, and can help us understand eggs without surgery on humans.
  
  We don’t do any ‘testing’ on the animals when they are alive, so they don’t suffer any distress or discomfort. We go to great lengths to use as few mice as possible (we give the mice a harmless treatment which makes them produce lots of eggs so we can use as few mice as possible).
  
  An important thing to know is that in the UK the use of animals in experiments is very highly regulated — there are lots of regulations in place to make sure that scientists are only allowed to use animals if (a) the experiments are well designed so that useful information will be gained – in our case useful information about eggs. Scientists such as us aren’t allowed to use animals unless they can show that their experiments are going to tell us useful things regarding human health. (b) the scientists are highly trained in handling the animals respectfully – everyone in our lab has been on an extensive course, passed an exam, and holds a license from the Home Office to handle mice (c) the scientists can show that they have done everything reasonably possible to use the fewest number of animals.
  
  So, the simple answer is yes, we do use mice, but this is because realistically we really have to in order to answer the questions which need answering, and everything possible is done to do this as compassionately as possible.
  
  I hope this helps…
  Greg
- Jane Cleal answered on 14 Jun 2010:
  
  No I work on human placentas, but sometimes animals have to be used for research purposes as we cannot do the study in humans. For example I recently did a project where we fed sheep different diets and then monitored how their lambs grew. Any work on animals is so tightly regulated that they are treated better then pet/farm animals!
- Jo Broadbent answered on 14 Jun 2010:
  
  HI Christie
  
  I don’t test on any animals personally.
  
  BUT I do use the results of other people’s research to find out what are the best medical treatments for people’s illnesses. This research might have used animals e.g. in testing medicines. All medicines have to be fully tested for safety.
  
  And I did use fish eggs in the past in my PhD research. We had 3 rooms of fish tanks and we collected eggs from the bottom of the tanks.
  
  Jo
- Nuruz Jaman answered on 14 Jun 2010:
  
  No, we do not do any tests on animals, as we are an NHS Laboratory working mainly with patients. But we sometimes do research projects which does not involve using animals and by mainly looking at trends and patterns emerging from different patients undergoing different processes.

Comments

Vicki commented on 14 Jun 2010:

Claire, whilst i totally understand your views, i think its very important to comment that this country no longer allows any cosmetic safety testing

Log in to Reply

Question: Do you test on any animals?