Basic Statement

Why we are opposed to animal experiments

• Animal experiments have to be rejected for ethical reasons. Animals, too, must be allowed the right to live according to the basic needs of their species. The use of defenceless animals of any species as disposable tools and testing systems for research and science is unethical. Even, if animal experiments were useful - which is not the case – they would ethically not be justifiable. Rather than concentrating purely on what they can do, medical researchers should also take into account what it is ethical to do.   
• Animal experiments have to be rejected for medical reasons. Experiments on animals are not a valid method of researching the different causes of human diseases nor of developing treatments for such diseases. Animals are artificially damaged to create so-called "models" which are used to mimic human diseases. Apart from some symptoms these "models" have hardly any similarities with the human diseases which are often chronic and may have psychological causes, as well as causes related to susceptibility, nutrition and environment. In the animal experiment these factors – and especially their interactions - cannot be reproduced. Using animal testing, in spite of millions of animal victims and enormous economic investments the medical research system has failed to make real breakthroughs in the fight against the main diseases of today (e.g. cancer, heart and circulation diseases, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, allergies, etc.), contrary to its countless promises.
• Animal experiments have to be rejected for scientific reasons. The results of animal experiments cannot be reliably transferred to humans. The animal experiment cannot lead to a reliable statement about whether and to what extent the human and animal organism react in the same way. In all cases the same test has to be repeated on humans, with unknown risks and unpredictable results. Before this any statement is pure speculation. A consequence of this unscientific extrapolation from laboratory animals to humans is that drugs have had to be withdrawn from the market because of unforeseen hazards or even lethal side-effects in humans – effects which were not seen in animals.
• Results from animal tests may have certain value for the same species, but they do not allow conclusions about effectiveness, tolerance nor safety for humans. The reason why many drugs and medical procedures are relatively safe can not be put down to animal experiments, but to the fact that all drugs have to be tested on humans, in the so-called clinical trials required by law.
• Animal based research leads to an overvaluing of the natural sciences in medicine. The human body is regarded as a sort of bio-machine and diseases as biochemical or physiological deviations which can be repaired using chemical, surgical or radiological means. The consequence is an unacceptable high-tech- , spare-part-, test tube-medicine, based on outdated mechanistical thinking and the believe that everything is possible. Vital aspects of the processes of disease and healing, such as social, spiritual and intellectual aspects, are ignored. Traditional medical ideas about healing, the dignity of patients and even death are destroyed by a materialistic point of view.
• Researching the real causes of our illnesses is much more useful and promising and is even cheaper than more and more experiments on defenceless animals. Extensive studies with patients and healthy people have shown the impact of life-style on the origin and process of different diseases. It has clearly been shown that the diseases of our civilization are mainly caused by smoking, alcohol abuse, poor nutrition, stress, lack of exercise and others. No animal has to suffer and die to investigate these important factors.