C.3 Vivisection

C.3.1 Vivisection is Useless

Researchers often justify vivisection for its effects on human life but - sadly - this has never happened.

Many years of vivisection practice haven't brought a single practical result; billions of animals die each day in laboratories and nobody has come up with a scientific proof of usefulness for such experiments.

Animal experimentation is simply a good business: "researchers" can publish large amounts of papers simply repeating the same useless experiments on different animals and under slightly different conditions.

Chemical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries test on animals but these tests are definitely not significant. As an example, cigarettes have been sold for many years as absolutely non dangerous because tests on animals showed there was no relationship between smoke and cancer.

The only significant tests are so stupid to be even more useless: if you burn dogs alive (it happens !) you'll find out they all die, but you don't need to test, everybody can tell you.

Some folks place lipstick on dogs' eyes, then in their mouths and see a suffering blind dog, but still alive. So they can write something like "avoid contact with eyes" and "not lethal in case of ingestion". I think the first suggestion should be given without any experimentation; the second advice is false: lots of substances are lethal for humans, but not for animals.

Tests on animals are just a formality to be legally authorized to sell products. The real guinea pig is you!

C.3.2 Ethically Unacceptable

Even if vivisection could bring significant improvement in medical research and in products safety (but it can't !), it would also be unacceptable. Usefulness is not a justification; otherwise, we should allow experiments on human beings, the only really significant tests.

Experimenters often say that humans are a "superior race" compared to others; humans may be superior to animals, when judging on intelligence, but this is not a justification for killing them. On the contrary, if we are superior, we have to protect and care for those who are weaker.

We should apply to animal the same logic we apply to other people; if you are physically, or mentally superior to another person, you have to help, not kill for your own sake.

C.3.3 Vivisection is Dangerous

Vivisection's uselessness has a direct consequence: vivisection is dangerous.

Chemical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries can sell almost everything if they find an animal species immune to the tested product. If you ever wondered why people die for using medical or chemical products considered safe, the reason is simple: every animal species is used in vivisection, so you can prove everything.

In other words, animal testing is an easy way to sell potentially dangerous products with a strong legal disclaimer. Some industries use alternative tests (computer simulations etc.) but they are much more difficult to manipulate.

You may be thinking: "OK, but if they didn't test on animals, there would be even more dangerous products". It's not true; if you don't test on animals, you loose this sort of "legislative immunity" and you are much more responsible about what you're selling.

Moreover, people who are cruel to animals, who cause their suffering and death, are very likely to be insensitive to humans too. On the contrary, people who care for the animals, are very likely to worry for your safety too.

Take a look to the URL http://www.novivisezione.org/mostra/index_en.htm, and think that every time you use products tested on animals (medical products, detergents, cosmetics and so on) you are not only contributing to this pain, but you are also placing your life and your beloved's lifes in the hands of people who practice all this. These people are able to slowly kill animals with their own hands, will they care about the people dying far away from them? Why do you think your life should count something for them?

C.3.4 What You Can Do

First, you can buy products not tested on animals. Nowaday, it's quite easy to find soaps, shampoos, cosmetics not tested on animals. In every country there are lists of `cruelty-free' products: ask to local animal rights organizations or search the Internet.

Examples are:

But don't care about advices like Not tested on animals: they often mean that producer didn't test the product on animals but may have paid others to do it. Moreover, the single ingredients may have been tested. You have to look at the lists above (or similar lists in your country).

We can also inform others about vivisection's uselessness and danger; when you read newspapers or magazines and find misinformation about these topics, write a letter to state your opinion, and suggest others to do the same.

You don't need to do these things on your own: there are many organizations trying to join efforts against vivisection's crimes.