Telethon: no to experiments on dogs, yes to innovation
One Voice leads a nonviolent fight to defend animal rights and respect all life forms. The organization operates independently and is thus free to speak and act freely.
As with every year, the Telethon will help to collect millions of euros for research on rare diseases. Some of the money collected will be used to fund extremely painful experiments on dogs, without necessarily translating into any significant progress that is needed by patients. More innovative work must be done.
In the secrecy of the laboratories
The images broadcast by PETA in 2013, in a laboratory where experiments are shockingly funded by the AFM-Telethon. One of its representatives admits: “It is certain that if we show them our dogs with Myopathy (to the public) it may make them lose a lot of money. That’s the money from the Telethon. It’s used to do this research. “For dogs, which have been artificially provoked with this disease, it’s a living torture, similar to that of humans who suffer from it, with difficulty in moving, breathing and swallowing.
An aberrant justification of cruelty
The sacrifice of dogs could be a necessary evil to save sick children and adults. But what is done to these animals is far from justifiable! It is not a matter of killing dogs to save children, but of perpetuating obsolete experiments, far removed from the progress of science, which is, however, a source of hope for all patients! Thus, the AMP-Téléthon association supports and finances research on neuromuscular diseases and rare diseases, many of which resort to animal experimentation without respecting the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement laid down by the European Directive on animal experimentation, transposed into French law. The reliability of the animal model is indeed widely questioned. Moreover, alternatives that do not involve animals already exist for research on Steinert’s disease, Pompe disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, autoimmune myasthenia and limb girdle muscular dystrophy.
The intervention of One Voice
One Voice wrote to the President of the AMP-Telethon, developing its arguments both legal and scientific. Adding the unjust and unnecessary suffering of sick people and dogs cannot be compared to progress. This association could finance the development of modern and ethical tests, sparing animals and complying with regulatory objectives. This is the urgency to find the solutions that will overcome these terrible diseases.
Hell is paved with good intentions
In support of the Telethon, some initiatives generate more harm than good. Five Brittany municipalities (Plouguenast, Gausson, Langast, Plessala and Saint-Gouéno) joined forces to raise funds. On the program: deer hunting, fox hunting and mass balloon releases. In other words: terror and serious pollution for the planet … One Voice stands against these practices and calls for ethics in fundraising.