Don't all doctors support
the concept of animal experimentation?
We commissioned a survey of 500 General Practitioners,
conducted by global market research organisation
TNS Healthcare in 2004. The results revealed
a staggering level of distrust in results obtained
from animal experiments:
- 82% were concerned that animal data can be
misleading when applied to humans
- only 21% would have more confidence in animal
tests for new drugs than in a battery of
human-based safety tests
- 83% would support an independent scientific
evaluation of the clinical relevance of animal
experimentation
Clearly, a silent majority of doctors today
are aware that animal tests are not the safety
net the public and the medical profession are
frequently assured they are by the government
and the pharmaceutical industry.
A paper published in the British Medical Journal
on 28th February 2004 asked "Where
is the evidence that animal research benefits
humans?" If
such evidence cannot be found, the practice should
cease. Patients will benefit because they will
no longer be damaged by misleading data, and
also because the resources currently pouring
into animal research will be freed for clinical
research.
Today, medicine is much more evidence-based
and it is time to weigh the real harm from animal
experiments against the alleged benefits. An
independent, transparent evaluation of the scientific
value of animal experiments is long overdue.
Incredibly, the government "has not commissioned
or evaluated any formal research on the efficacy
of animal experiments and has no plans to do
so" (Home Office, April 2004).
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