Posted on the 21st February 2019
Today we are launching a new campaign to raise awareness of, and ultimately stop, all warfare experiments involving animals. All animal experiments are cruel and unreliable, but warfare experiments are particularly heinous. This is because they involve intentionally exposing animals to compounds, weapons or blast injuries which are known to cause terrible suffering and death in humans.
Porton Down, near Salisbury, is the UK site most commonly associated with warfare experiments, including those on animals. Animal Aid has discovered that thousands of animals each year are used at the site, which is shrouded in secrecy. The latest figures available, for 2017, show that 3,865 animals of various species – including monkeys, mice and pigs – were experimented upon at Porton Down.
Today, Animal Aid highlights the terrible suffering inflicted on animals during warfare experiments, through analysing some recently published work involving guinea pigs, which was conducted at Porton Down. The guinea pigs had a nerve agent called VX applied to their backs in order to see how a chemical – known as a bioscavenger – would alter the effects of VX. VX has been described as causing blurred vision, drooling, excessive sweating, eye pain, nausea and vomiting in humans at low doses. A large dose can cause fits, a loss of consciousness, paralysis and a failure to breathe, potentially leading to death.
Ask your MP to sign EDM 2113, calling for an end to these experimentsYesterday, five horses from the Household Cavalry became spooked during training, throwing off their riders and racing terrified through central London. One of the horses was seen to be covered in blood as they stampeded...
Posted 25 Apr 2024
 To support World Day for Animals in Laboratories on 24th April, we are organising the ‘End Animal Tests’ week of action which runs from Saturday 20th until Sunday 28th April.
Posted 18 Apr 2024
