In less than two months, 428 projects validated: 1,659,056 animals condemned, thousands trepaned
Since the beginning of the year, the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR) has not done things by halves. Between January 1 and February 21, 2025, no fewer than 428 projects were authorized and 1,659,056 animals condemned to undergo all sorts of painful experiments before losing their “usefulness” and being put to death.
Beyond the numbers lie the macabre fates of individuals…
Today, One Voice reveals in particular the fate reserved for primates in this series of protocols, and once again asks the authorities for the documents authorizing these tests.
Hundreds of open-brained monkeys
Whether studying Parkinson‘s disease or cerebrovascular accidents, the common thread is this: primates are mutilated, their skulls cut open to plug in invasive devices.
In the chilling technical terms of a project summary, the monkeys undergo trepanning and “implantation of a head-restraining device and recording chamber via titanium screws surgically implanted on the head”. In short: a drill bit is inserted into their head, to the brain. Then a metal tube is attached to it, with a window sealed by a cap before “use”. During testing, the cap is removed and electrodes are inserted directly into the heart of the organ.
Not to mention the pain, these experiments can cause infections (as we’ve seen at NeuroSpin), lead to fluid accumulation, damage the protective layer of the encephalon or, worst of all, deliberately cause irreparable damage!
For hours on end, according to a second protocol just as disconnected from the tortures endured, they are subjected to a series of interventions: “Animals that pass the training will then have a second cranial surgery under general anesthesia to implant the recording chambers or multielectrode arrays”. A grim reward indeed…
Of these 596 monkeys, 252 will be reused in other experiments or returned to breeding farms. As for those deemed too “damaged” by the procedures, they will simply be put to death. Their ordeal will end, once again, not out of compassion, but because they are no longer “usable”.
Hundreds of thousands of animals under the labs’ scalpel
Unfortunately, these 596 primates are only a tiny fraction of the victims… Alongside them, 1,624,660 domestic animals will also suffer the scalpel blows of their executioners:
- Sheep will be induced to have heart attacks, while others will have new devices put in their bones;
- Rabbits and rats are not exempt from brain implants either;
- Mice, meanwhile, are being experimented on from every angle, from heart attacks triggering to depression induction, via intracerebral devices… Among all these projects, one plans to render 901,000 of them immunodeficient, causing them all kinds of diseases;
- Scientists will create anal fistulas in pigs, which they will maintain for several weeks;
- Hundreds of dogs will be forced to test new drug candidates for toxicity, risking their lives in the process;
We will continue to ask the Ministry for access to project application files in order to verify their conformity and the rigor of their evaluation. With the aim of increasing transparency, we will not stop denouncing these cruel tests and demanding a reduction in the number of animals used.
If, like three quarters of French people, you support the end of animal testing (One Voice/Ipsos April 2023), join us in calling for an end to these barbaric methods!