In the space of a month and a half, 1,579,793 animals were included in experimental projects in France.

The transition to an animal-free science is overwhelmingly supported by the French (Ipsos/One Voice poll April 2023), by nearly 150 European scientists from 19 member states, by European elected representatives in 2010 and 2023, and by French parliamentarians.

Yet, in the space of a month and a half, 1,469,969 mice, 48,505 rats, 422 dogs, 336 cats, 91 monkeys, 71 horses, 2,128 pigs, 1,595 guinea pigs, 36,422 fish, 10,836 birds, seals, lizards, rabbits, marmots etc., will be experimented on and then, for almost all of them, killed because their condition will not allow them to be kept alive. This is the reality of animal experimentation in France: animals of all species are involved, and their numbers are not decreasing. 

For example, monkeys will undergo surgeries to implant electrodes in their brains delivering different intensities of electric current before inducing Parkinson’s syndrome, or total body irradiation accompanied by daily administration of drugs that cause gastro-intestinal disorders with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and digestive bleeding. All these projects involve severe pain.   

Dogs and cats will also be used for the administration of pharmaceutical substances, or the voluntary induction of nausea and vomiting with injections of products that can lead to respiratory depression, bradycardia and a drop in body temperature, or toxicological tests leading to the death of the animals. 

As for pigs, the vast majority undergo experiments generating severe pain: repeated heart attacks, spinal cord lesions preventing movement or urination and causing terrible suffering, implantation of deliberately infected aortic prostheses, destruction of bone marrow cells involving nausea, vomiting, headaches, septicemia and pain, cardio-respiratory arrests, interruption of arterial circulation, as well as being used in the training of professionals performing coelioscopies and other non-detailed surgeries.  

Finally, small herbivores, which are always the most exploited, represent around 96% of all animals tested during this period, or 1,521,939 individuals. 

Each project is classified into three levels of severity: mild, moderate and severe. When experimental procedures are classified as severe, animals are likely to experience intense pain, suffering or distress. Here are a few examples:  

• 3,120 rats will undergo several surgeries to induce a severe ischemic stroke, and will be subjected to numerous behavioral tests. They will have great difficulty in moving, hydrating and feeding themselves, and will endure significant pain in the brain.
• As part of a study on child abuse, 2,464 baby mice will be exposed to a number of experiments. To reproduce the “shaken baby” syndrome, they will undergo a shaking procedure, and to reproduce “maternal neglect”, they will be separated from their mothers for several hours a day.
• 9,500 mice and 2,400 rats will be subjected to colitis induction. They will suffer severe pain and fall into prostration.  
• 12,670 mice will be infected with bacteria, resulting in fever, weight loss and prostration, all of which will prove fatal.
• Several hundred mice already lacking an immune system will be irradiated and then injected with human blood cells.  
• 276 newborn mice will undergo brain surgery to implant electrodes and a head bar.
• 1,100 young rats will endure numerous injections and surgeries, and will be plunged into status epilepticus for several hours. In another project, 1,332 mice will undergo 1 to 5 epileptic seizures a day.
• Inducing a respiratory infection in 3,390 mice and not giving them any pain-relieving treatments, as this would “confound the evaluation of the efficacy of therapeutic strategies and the understanding of the associated inflammatory/immune mechanisms”.
• 578 mice will be subjected to several injections and surgeries, leading to progressive paralysis and death.
• As part of a study on depression, 1,500 mice will experience different types of stress on a daily basis for eight weeks, through various behavioral tests: olfactory, social, restraint and environmental stress, etc.  
• 5,600 mice will undergo numerous injections, including tumor cell implantation, which will result in pain, loss of mobility and weight loss. 

Here are a few examples of projects of moderate severity: 

• 119,170 mice will undergo ear, tail and/or blood sampling.
• As part of a study on tuberculosis, 23,295 mice will be infected with the disease and then treated. In the acute form of the infection, they may suffer from weight loss, reduced general condition, prostration and alopecia.
• Following a technical problem (material had not been delivered), some mice, having exceeded the age required for the project, were killed and replaced by others… to receive numerous injections and undergo a test designed to place them on a hot plate.
• Before being euthanized, 2,500 mice will undergo an injection of cancer cells into the bladder, resulting in weight loss, prostration and an inability to urinate or eat. 
• 1,136 mice will be subjected to tumor implantation and oral administration of fecal matter…

We therefore demand that laboratories systematically give priority to alternative methods when available, as required by law. We also encourage professionals to train in animal-free testing techniques. In addition, we urge our political representatives to support significantly increased funding for research into alternative methods. 

To put an end to these revolting methods, which have largely had its days, join us in calling for an end to animal experimentation, and write to the Minister of Higher Education and Research: download the standard letter.