Roadmap – to phase out ‘animal testing’ – is launched
We are pleased to announce we have published our ‘Roadmap to phase out animal testing’.
Posted 03 Dec 2024
Posted on the 23rd June 2010
Prince Charles’ call for a cull of grey squirrels in Cornwall has prompted animal protection groups to describe him as ‘a man who doesn’t let his education get in the way of his ignorance’. Animal Aid and Viva! believe that the Prince’s campaign to eradicate grey squirrels – through poisoning, shooting or bludgeoning them to death in a sack – is ‘irrational, inhumane and doomed to fail’, and have called for everyone who opposes animal cruelty to boycott the Prince’s Duchy Originals range of products in protest.
Prince Charles hopes to rid the county of grey squirrels so that captive-bred red squirrels can be introduced instead. But, say the campaigners, releasing any captive-bred animal into the wild places enormous strains on them and red squirrels, who are actually doing very well across their range, are unlikely to thrive in an area where conditions are suboptimal.
Aside from the cruelty involved, research has shown that squirrel culls are destined to fail. Rapid recolonisation and an increase in reproductive rates compensate for losses made by culling.
Kate Fowler, Head of Campaigns at Animal Aid, says:
‘To mass-kill a healthy species and then reintroduce one that may struggle to survive in that area, is utterly absurd and a shocking waste of valuable conservation money. The suffering that this cull will cause – to both reds and greys – is without justification, and is driven by the Prince’s whimsical preference for red squirrels. We must speak out against such arrogant meddling with nature. Prince Charles may be King someday, but he is not God.’
Juliet Gellatley, zoologist and founder & director of Viva!, says:
‘Grey squirrels were introduced into the UK by the aristocracy and now they want to eradicate them. I’ve come to the inescapable conclusion that there is a minority of “well-bred” people who may seem normal but who are bent on killing. Sadly, Prince Charles seems to be one of them, following in the footsteps of his tiger-slaughtering father. The call for this cull is immoral and scientifically defective.’
We are pleased to announce we have published our ‘Roadmap to phase out animal testing’.
Posted 03 Dec 2024
From the nativity scene to Santa’s reindeer, animals have always been a part of Christmas. Sadly, so too has their suffering with around two million turkeys being slaughtered in December alone. Thankfully, it’s never been...
Posted 01 Dec 2024