Related Research Articles
Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research and in vivo testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments that seek to control the variables that affect the behavior or biological system under study. This approach can be contrasted with field studies in which animals are observed in their natural environments or habitats. Experimental research with animals is usually conducted in universities, medical schools, pharmaceutical companies, defense establishments and commercial facilities that provide animal-testing services to industry. The focus of animal testing varies on a continuum from pure research, focusing on developing fundamental knowledge of an organism, to applied research, which may focus on answering some question of great practical importance, such as finding a cure for a disease. Examples of applied research include testing disease treatments, breeding, defense research and toxicology, including cosmetics testing. In education, animal testing is sometimes a component of biology or psychology courses. The practice is regulated to varying degrees in different countries.
Vivisection, also known as V-section, is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for experimentation on live animals by organizations opposed to animal experimentation, but the term is rarely used by practicing scientists. Human vivisection, such as live organ harvesting, has been perpetrated as a form of torture. However, as vivisection etymologically means a surgery on a living being, all forms of open surgery on living people are literally human vivisection.
In the animal rights movement, cruelty-free is a label for products or activities that do not harm or kill animals anywhere in the world. Products tested on animals are not considered cruelty-free, since these tests are often painful and cause the suffering and death of millions of animals every year.
Cruelty Free International is an animal protection and advocacy group that campaigns for the abolition of all animal experiments. They organise certification of cruelty-free products which are marked with the symbol of a leaping bunny.
Tipu Zahed Aziz, FMedSci is a Bangladeshi-born British professor of neurosurgery at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, Aarhus Denmark and Porto, Portugal. He specialises in the study and treatment of Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, dystonia, spasmodic torticollis, fixed abnormal posture of the neck, tremor, and intractable neuropathic pain. Besides his medical work, he is also notable as a public commentator in support of animal experimentation.
Gillian Rose Langley is a British scientist and writer who specialises in alternatives to animal testing and animal rights. She was, from 1981 until 2009, the science director of the Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research, a medical research charity developing non-animal research techniques. She was an anti-vivisection member of the British government's Animal Procedures Committee for eight years, and has worked as a consultant on non-animal techniques for the European Commission, and for animal protection organizations in Europe and the United States. Between 2010 and 2016 she was a consultant for Humane Society International.
The National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) is a national, not-for-profit, animal welfare organisation, based in London, that actively campaigns against animal testing for commercial, educational or scientific research purposes.
The Boyd Group is a Britain-based, independent think tank considering issues relating to animal testing.
OneKind is a campaigning animal welfare charity based in Edinburgh and operating in Scotland, UK and as part of the Eurogroup for Animals. OneKind exists to end cruelty to Scotland's wildlife, pets, and other animals through high-profile public campaigns, political lobbying, investigations, objective research and public education.
Uncaged Campaigns is a Sheffield, UK, based anti-vivisection, not-for-profit organisation and a registered company limited by guarantee.
Women have played a central role in animal advocacy since the 19th century. The animal advocacy movement – embracing animal rights, animal welfare, and anti-vivisectionism – has been disproportionately initiated and led by women, particularly in the United Kingdom. Women are more likely to support animal rights than men. A 1996 study of adolescents by Linda Pifer suggested that factors that may partially explain this discrepancy include attitudes towards feminism and science, scientific literacy, and the presence of a greater emphasis on "nurturance or compassion" amongst women. Although vegetarianism does not necessarily imply animal advocacy, it is also worth noting that a 1992 market research study conducted by the Yankelovich research organization concluded that "of the 12.4 million people [in the US] who call themselves vegetarian, 68% are female, while only 32% are male".
The American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS) is an organization created with the goal of eliminating a number of different procedures done by medical and cosmetic groups in relation to animal cruelty in the United States. It seeks to help the betterment of animal life and human-animal interaction through legislation reform.
Vegan Ireland: The Vegan Society of Ireland is a nonprofit and voluntary organisation formed in 2009 by a group of vegans concerned with the promotion of the vegan philosophy and lifestyle in Ireland. Inspired by the original Vegan Society (UK), which was started in 1944 by Donald Watson, Vegan Ireland have published a mission statement which aims to offer support and information to people interested in veganism; to promote and increase awareness of veganism as a just, healthy and environmentally beneficial lifestyle choice; raise awareness of the rights violations and exploitation involved with the production of animal based products; research information relevant to a vegan lifestyle and where appropriate to publish this information, lobby for manufacturers to use non-animal based materials in their products; support and promote real science and reject vivisection on moral and scientific grounds; promote respect towards all animals, human or nonhuman, and the environment by appropriate means; and develop and maintain positive relationships with organisations with compatible aims and objectives to Vegan Ireland.
The New England Anti-Vivisection Society (NEAVS) is a national, registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization “dedicated to ending the use of animals in research, testing, and science education” and replacing them with "modern alternatives that are ethically, humanely, and scientifically superior."
The Anti-Vivisection Coalition (AVC) is a United Kingdom-based pressure group which campaigns against animal testing. The AVC are described as 'main driver' of the Stop Vivisection Initiative, a petition launched in November 2012 which attracted more than a million signatures. The Stop Vivisection Initiative called upon the European Union to ban animal testing. If the signatures are verified, "the initiative will be granted hearings at the European Commission and the European Parliament".
Animal welfare and rights in India regards the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in India. It is distinct from animal conservation in India.
Animal welfare and rights in South Africa is about the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in South Africa.
Animal welfare and rights in Switzerland is about the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in Switzerland. Switzerland has high levels of animal welfare protection by international standards.
Cruelty-free cosmetics is a category containing all cosmetics that have not been tested on animals. The FDA has not approved a legal definition that binds this term to a certain set of criteria, making it difficult to define. However, in addition to the final product, most advocates for cruelty-free beauty agree that none of the ingredients used in the production of the cosmetic can be tested on animals in order for it to be truly cruelty-free, despite the fact that many companies who brand themselves as such still use raw materials that have been tested on animals. Therefore, it is most useful to define the term according to group consensus within the community rather than using government-promoted definitions.
References
- ↑ Animalconcern: Gegevens ECEAE
- ↑