Cruel treatment of laboratory animals shows failure in the implementation of EU Directive
According to the German animal protection organisation, all experiments at LPT must be stopped immediately, and the people responsible should be charged with animal cruelty. The association is also urging politicians to solve the deficiencies in the German implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. However, the ultimate goal must be phasing out all animal experiments.
“Seeing these almost unbearable images, nobody can claim that we have one of the strictest animal protection laws in the world and that we comply with all requirements for animal experiments in an exemplary manner,” says Thomas Schröder, President of Deutscher Tierschutzbund. “This case makes it alarmingly clear what the inadequate implementation of the Directive in Germany can lead to. The Federal Government must set itself the declared goal of the EU: ultimately, animal experiments must be completely replaced by animal-free trials.”
The shocking images show dogs covered in blood and in agony due to poisoning by test substances. An ‘animal keeper’ willfully hits a macaque against a door frame, while others are roughly dragged out of cages and thrown back in after experiments.
Kristina Wagner, Head of the Department for Alternative Methods to Animal Experiments at Deutscher Tierschutzbund, says: “This way of dealing with the animals is brutal and barbaric. Critically ill animals were unattended for long periods of time and during the night – a violation of the requirements for their care and protection.”
Deutscher Tierschutzbund also criticizes the fact that in the LPT case it becomes obvious what can happen if sufficient inspections by the competent authority do not take place and, above all, without advance notice. Also, the staff did not seem to have the training or expertise required for the care of laboratory animals, let alone for the performance of animal experiments, as required by the EU Directive – another shortcoming of the German implementation of EU standards.
This case makes it alarmingly clear what the inadequate implementation of the Directive in Germany can lead to.Thomas Schröder, President of Deutscher Tierschutzbund
