The Cruelty and Limitations of Testing on Animals
Experimenters subject living, feeling beings to unbearable suffering. Right here in the UK, dogs are force-fed pesticides, rabbits endure chemical burns, and horses’ blood is drained with needles. Countless other animals may endure poisoning, deliberate infection, paralysis, and electrocution.
It’s time to recognise that animals are not test tubes but sentient beings who must not be drugged, gassed, discarded, or dissected for questionable science.
Given the vast physiological differences between humans and other animals, results of such experiments are inherently unreliable. Major scientific breakthroughs in diseases like diabetes and breast cancer have been achieved through studies conducted on consenting human patients, not on other animals. Tormenting animals does nothing to make scientific advancements and can even delay treatments and cures for humans.
It is high time the government adopted a comprehensive strategy to end experiments on animals in the UK, such as PETA’s Research Modernisation Deal, and replace them with superior humane and human-relevant methods. Beagles and bunnies need you to speak out for them!
Bear Slaughter Behind the King’s Guard’s Caps
Using the fur of slaughtered bears to make caps for the King’s Guard is both cruel and unnecessary. Did you know that it takes the skin of at least one bear to produce a single cap? Recreational hunters in Canada are granted tags to hunt bears for fun. They often shoot them with guns or bows and arrows. The wounded animals die in agony as they slowly bleed out. As the sex of bears is difficult to ascertain on sight, hunters often kill mother bears seeking food for their cubs. As a result, entire families die.
PETA, in collaboration with ECOPEL, has developed the world’s first faux bear fur as a humane and modern alternative. Recent laboratory tests have confirmed that the faux bear fur matches and in some areas outperforms real bear fur against the Ministry of Defence’s five criteria for a suitable substitute. It is lighter, more sustainable, and cheaper than real bear fur, and an unlimited amount is being offered to the government for free until 2030. Furthermore, 95% of the public rejects fur and 75% considers the bearskin caps to be a “bad use of government funds”, so making this switch would be popular with voters. We have the opportunity to ensure that no matter which government comes into power, the outdated use of real bear fur for the purely ornamental caps will end.
Manifesto Commitments
MPs are able to give input into the content of their party manifestos, which outline the strategy and goals their government would pursue should they come into power. It is crucial to ensure that parties commit to a plan to phase out experiments on animals and end the use of bear fur for the King’s Guard’s caps and that these are priorities for each party for the next general election. Take action now by sending an e-mail to your MP and urging them to support these crucial initiatives.