Extremely Disturbing News
Animal Lab Operating on The Quiet For Three Years
By DERRICK VINESH and S.S. YOGA | Saturday June 12, 2010 | newsdesk@thestar.com.my
BUKIT MERTAJAM: While animal lovers are up in arms over the setting up of an animal testing laboratory in Malacca, a similar facility is believed to have been operating on the quiet here for the past three years.
According to the company’s website, it is an independent contract research organisation offering toxicology services to the worldwide pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agrochemical and industrial chemical industries.
It claims to conduct toxicology tests on a range of animals. It said some animals were used for regulatory pre-clinical toxicity testing of pharmaceuticals and certain chemicals, such as agrochemicals and biocides.
The RM52mil facility includes a state-of-the-art dog unit, purpose-built to provide the highest standards of animal care and advanced study procedures.
There were also 15 animal rooms, each designed to hold up to 40 dogs and enabling the housing of one study per room, the company said in its website.
The company also said its non-human primate building included eight animal rooms.
It added that the primates would be supplied from the company’s own biosecure breeding facility.
The website stated that the company had a 3,200 sq m barriered rodent facility for short-term toxicity, carcinogenicity and reproductive toxicity studies.
The existence of such a laboratory comes as a surprise to the state Wildlife and National Parks Department, which wants to investigate the company operating at the Penang Science Park in Bukit Minyak.
Penang-based Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) is shocked that the company is operating in its own “backyard” without its knowledge.
Department director Noor Alif Wira Othman said it had not issued any permit for primates to be bred for research purposes in the state.
“Breeding primates for research requires several permits such as for catching, keeping, breeding, selling or buying of the primates. We will conduct an inspection on this premises to find out if they have the necessary documentation,” he said.
SAM president S.M. Mohd Idris expressed shock and disappointment when informed about the facility.
“We have been actively fighting with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Selangor against the animal testing lab in Malacca.
“Little did we know there was a lab conducting similar activities here in Penang,” he said.
A state official-cum-animal lover, who declined to be named, said he was disappointed with the previous administration for allowing the facility to be set up in Penang.
“I believe the company had once mentioned that it chose Penang to set up the facility because the laws on animal testing in European nations were more stringent,” he said.
Former state executive councillor Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan said: “The issue should not be over-politicised as I am sure proper procedures are observed to avoid causing unnecessary discomfort to the animals.”
British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection and the Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research said about 115 million animals were used in scientific research globally in 2005 based on official national figures and estimates from the number of scientific papers published involving animals.
Only Liechtenstein and San Marino have banned animal testing.
A check by The Star yesterday showed that there were fewer than 15 cars parked in the compound and CCTV cameras installed around the two-storey building.
There were hardly any activity in the compound except for a few people believed to be suppliers and contractors going in and out of the premises.
When met at the entrance, a security guard claimed that the company had not started formal operations yet.
He said his boss was busy and could not see any visitors.
Although he took down the name and contact number of the reporter, and said his boss would telephone, no call came from the company.
Source: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/6/12/nation/6459019&sec=nation
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I cannot believe humans can do this. This is shameful for the Penang state and it government. How incredibly sneaky we can be 🙁 This is sad. I’m just glad that the officials managed to find this out and shut it down.
This is horrible. Lets start with how the animals are being treated. They are put in a room in large numbers and most of them die because of us testing drugs and chemicals on them. We don’t even know what it will do so we do it to others to see even though it may be cruel and painful. Just because we don’t want to try it on ourselves, we are so cruel and we summon the poor animals to death and they didn’t do anything.
It is so stupid because it says the chemicals are for the best animal care but then they kill countless animals to get a good care chemical. Even if sacrificing a hundred but saving a million is the idea behind this, what gives us the right to pick for them. That is my problem, we pick for them, we think we are gods because we are smart but why do we get power over them.
That is the biggest problem, thing like this remind me that we human are bullies. While advancing ourselves we must kill or wipe out species and bring down the earth because of us killing animals, polluting and tearing down their homes. We already are pushing some animals towards extinction because we take their lives, skin and meat. Why do we get the power?
I hate animal testing, i just find it so mean and cruel to animals. And the fact that these people were not allowed to do it and have been secretly doing it for 3 years, makes me so sad. I am sad of this because i cant imagine the amount of animals killed in those three years, i just makes me wonder the amount of pain that they were put in. I wished that they had never been put into that pain and suffering.
This is so cruel. Animal have their rights not to be caged. Why don’t they test them on humans? Humans are the same as animals. We eat, we sleep, we play etc, so why don’t they test them on humans? Because killing a person is bad? Since the setting up of the laws for humans rights can be done, why don’t they set one for the animals? They deserve so much better than that.
Thank You for sharing Rinpoche.
Love, beatrix.
Reading news like this really sadden me… Many of us do not really understand that animals are much abused for whatever reasons.
Of course, the most common way of abusing animals is to use them as food. A less known way is using animals for testing, be it cosmetics, drugs, food, etc. We should share more of this type of posts on social media to let more people know about this.
I like this group of young Kecharians who setup this Animal Befrienders Coalition (ABC) to help spread awareness of animal cruelty and promote vegetarianism. Please give them your support by ‘Liking” their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalBefriendersCoalition?fref=ts
It is painful to see the picture, for this little monkey is held by its neck so helplessly.
Animal testing for chemical substances have been with us for many decades. These animals are used in tests with no hope of future.
Imagine the moment when they are brought to the centre, their destinies are doomed. And before they die, they need to suffer, either due to drug effects or bad living conditions within the facility.
I am not a scientist, but I really wonder if there are other ways to carry out these tests without having to harm these animals?
Animal Testing is really cruel. I really can’t bear to feel how it would feel like to be on the operating table getting tested for various unnecessary creams that might be toxic. Mama once showed me a really scary video about animal testing via facebook. I could not even reach the end of the video. I really do not want to ever take any thing that has been animal tested. What IS the point of taking unnecessary creams that will make you look ‘younger’ if they have been hurting animals. Our ancestors never needed to waste their money on miracle creams and during those days, animals were not harmed in the process. Why do we want to waste our money and harm animals in the process?
On animal testing, I always wondered what it might be like to be one of those animals who are used for testing. Animals don’t have the same sophisticated level of consciousness as we do and therefore, won’t be able to think “Oh my, I’m about to be used for substance testing – i’m so afraid!” However, they are very intuitive, they know when something’s very wrong, or something wrong’s about to happen. In this way, the fear they go through is unimaginable as is the slow, often torturous and lasting pain they go through, and for what? So that we can rub some miracle anti-ageing cream into our faces?
There really is no excuse for animal testing – not one. As Jamie said, we got along OK without it for centuries up until now: it’s such an unnecessary evil.
Hopefully one day animal testing will be universally banned and the animals can live in peace within their natural habitats, living as they were meant to live.
Kind regards,
Sandy
I’m not a great believer of western methods of dispensing medicine and treatment. Even the philosophy of Western medicine is deeply flawed as there is a great emphasis on treating the symptoms rather than the root. Being a proponent of Chinese medicine I must say Chinese medicine focuses on the root of the problem, this may result in a slower recovery time but the medicine hits at the root of the problem. To test medicine meant for humans on animals does not seem very effective at all. What guarantees do the test have to determine a particular drug or medicine has no adverse effects on humans? Then animals that are being tested most of them do die.
This stood out in the article: “115 million animals were used in scientific research globally in 2005.” That’s just in 2005, 5 years ago so it is frightening to think that the numbers have probably increased since then?
What exactly is going into the products we’re using?! Are we rubbing the result of pain onto our skins in the creams we use? Taking medicine that is the result of death and simulated sickness, to get healthy ourselves?
All this is so unnatural and so unnecessary – humans got along fine for thousands of years without the need for all this kind of CRAP. This just clearly shows how technology and science DOESN’T make us more refined and knowledgeable. It actually turns us more into barbarians and brings out even more of our negative animalistic traits, wanting to exert our twisted dominion over some warped food chain.
Do you think it’s too late for us to turn back and go back to the way things were? Or is it only downhill from here where we’ll just get worse and worse?
This very sad but is a fact of life. In the name of modern science and technology, many animals have had to sacrifice their lives to provide creature comforts to humans, or the consumer, i.e. us. Everything that we take for granted nowadays, at one point or another has required the sacrifice of some organism for the benefit of our species. The buzz word today is Safety, Health and Environment, but to get to a point when we can put something on the market that is “safe”, the materials would have gone through accelerated tests of course on helpless animals to make it pass certain standards, and these standards are becoming more and more stringent due to regulatory pressure. Everything that we touch is made up of chemicals. Everything that we use that is “irritant free”, you can be sure it has been tested on animals at massive doses, on the eye, abrated skin or inhaled beyond the point the irritation occurs. For oral toxicity, animals are force fed the chemicals and the lethal dose is measured, i.e. at what dose ½ the population of animal dies. Let’s not even talk about carcinogenicity, testing to see if it causes cancer. Our being alive and living in comfort in this world is a detriment to other less fortunate species. That is the nature of samsara, utterly skewed and imperfect.
Yes Rinpoche. Will do so. Its very bad !
Dear Everyone,
Please write in to Derrick Vinesh and SS Yoga of the Star to give us more updates, stories and news about this lab in Penang. The purpose is to create public awareness.
Please write in today.
TR
It is sad and true that animals are often used for testings (pharmaceutical, food industry, toxicology etc).
Not to mention about the number of lives lost for the purpose of ‘education’ where dissection of mice and frogs take place, which could have easily been replaced with computerized simulations. Though some educators may argue about the lack of ‘hands on experience’
Backyard breeding is definitely bad, be it purpose-bred animals for scientific studies; or companion animals. I’ve read many negative testimonials from pet owners that accidentally bought their dog from backyard breeders (maybe due to lack of awareness). Puppies breed there are often short-lived; dying from viruses like parvo or distemper which could be easily avoided with vaccination and a hygienic environment, obviously not provided by these unethical and unlicensed breeders….. 🙁