Mission Statement

Basic Statement

Why we are opposed to animal experiments

Animal experiments have to be rejected for ethical reasons. In research laboratories animals are downgraded to disposable tools and testing systems. But, animals, too, must be allowed the right to live according to the basic needs of their species. The torturing and painful killing of animals is immoral. The supposed ethical dilemma of "animal suffering vs. human suffering" does not actually exist, as results from animal research cannot be reliably transferred to humans.
Animal experiments have to be rejected for medical reasons. Human diseases cannot be effectively studied or cured through animal experiments. The so-called “model” of disease in artificially harmed animals has, aside from the observation of certain symptoms, little in common with human illnesses. Psychological, genetic, nutritional, and environmental causes—and their complex interactions—play a crucial role in the processes of illness and healing. These influences cannot be adequately represented in animal experiments. The heavy reliance of medical research on animal experiments is a key reason why, despite the sacrifice of millions of animals and billions in annual financial investments, there have been no breakthroughs in curing modern civilization diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dementia, rheumatism, allergies, and others. The numerous promises made by animal-based research repeatedly prove to be unfounded.
Animal experiments have to be rejected for scientific reasons. The results of animal experiments cannot be reliably transferred to humans. Animal experiments cannot lead to a reliable conclusion about whether and to what extent the human and animal will react in the same way. In every case, the same experiment must be repeated on humans, involving incalculable risks. Until then, any claim of transferability is purely speculative. A consequence of this unscientiﬁc extrapolation from laboratory animals to humans is the large number of drugs that were considered safe but had to be withdrawn from the market in recent decades—despite extensive animal testing—because they caused serious or even fatal side effects in humans, unlike in animals.
Results from animal tests do not allow conclusions about effectiveness, tolerance nor safety for humans. The fact that some medications and medical procedures can be used relatively safely is not due to animal testing, but solely to the legally required and necessarily conducted clinical trials on humans.
Animal-experiment-based medicine is increasingly losing sight of the human being as a whole. The focus is no longer on the person and their needs, but rather on what appears technically and medically feasible. The human body is viewed as a kind of “biomachine,” and diseases are seen merely as biochemical or physiological malfunctions to be corrected through chemical, biochemical, surgical, or radiological interventions. However, social and psychological factors—which play a crucial role in the development and healing of all illnesses—are not being considered in animal-based research.
Human-centered research into the causes of disease is significantly more meaningful, promising, and therefore more cost-effective than repeatedly conducting new experiments on animals. Large-scale population studies have clearly shown that today’s lifestyle diseases are primarily caused by factors such as meat-rich diet, smoking, alcohol abuse, stress, lack of exercise, and so on. No animal had to suffer or die for these important insights.
In many areas of medical research, more and more animal-free methods are being developed and used, including human cell-based techniques, mini-organs grown from adult stem cells, multi-organ chips, and complex computer models. These in vitro systems—unlike animal experiments—have already proven their effectiveness. Their full potential is far from being exhausted, but they require much stronger and more sustained support. The toxicity of substances, the investigation of diseases and therapeutic approaches, or the metabolism of drugs can all be studied in detail, efficiently, and without suffering using in vitro methods—that is, without animal testing. Unlike animal experiments, these new scientific research methods provide results that are truly relevant to humans.

Conclusion: Animal experiments are not only cruel and therefore unethical, they are also unscientiﬁc and unsafe and must be abolished immediately in the interest of man and animals and replaced by meaningful and humane procedures.

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