Tens of thousands of animals are still used to train students and professionals.
Every year, the authorities allow thousands of animals to be experimented on by staff members for training purposes. Training “tools” for students and professionals, dogs, monkeys, pigs, mice, rats and fish are subjected to numerous painful procedures. Join us in demanding a halt to these projects – write to the Ministry !
In 2021, 34,460 animals were used in these learning projects. The aims are manifold: to train doctors and veterinary surgeons in surgery, to train laboratory employees to maintain and acquire technical skills, or “to raise staff awareness in order to minimize the constraints imposed on animals during experimental procedures”. When looking at the projects involved, this last point comes into question:
“At the end of the procedures, the animals will either be reused if no damage has been observed, or put to death if the limit points have been reached.” These are the words of a project summary dated May 28, under which 1,930 small herbivores will be subjected to restraint, multiple sampling, injections, vaginal smears and anesthesia.
This chillingly bureaucratic sentence masks a revolting reality: animals are regarded as mere teaching aids, and their lives are discarded at the slightest sign of suffering or injury. Clearly, if mistakes are made, no matter what the consequences, they are killed.
It is crucial to note that these practices are not only terrible for the animals; they also have a psychological impact on those who carry them out. The law requires the use of alternative methods whenever possible, so it’s essential to demand not training on living beings, but on the alternatives that exist.
A call to action
We therefore call on laboratories to systematically favor alternative methods, and on professionals to be trained in testing without living beings. We also urge our political representatives to finally vote in favor of much greater funding for research into alternative methods.
If you are a student or professional shocked by these practices, we invite you to contact us (we guarantee you total confidentiality) and/or to call on the Ministry of Higher Education and Research to end animal experimentation and adopt alternative methods: download the standard letter.