A German lab that came under fire last month for horrific animal abuse of animals used for toxicity tests is finally closing its doors.
Incredibly graphic footage, shot by an undercover worker in conjunction with Cruelty Free International (CFI) and SOKO Tierschutz, prompted protests, outrage, and government scrutiny. The Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology (LPT) near Hamburg, Germany, runs tests for pharmaceutical companies and uses monkeys, dogs, cats, and rabbits to conduct their experiments. While EU law has guidelines for how animals used in tests must be treated and housed, the video showed the facility’s flagrant violations.
Monkeys were hung by their necks in metal harnesses writhing in pain. They lived in cramped enclosures in which they spun around in circles incessantly as a result of stress and anxiety. Dogs were forced to lie in their own bodily fluids, and ones clearly in need of veterinary care never received it. Footage showed cats with large sores on their legs from having their blood drawn 13 times in the course of 10 hours.
“The footage shows some of the worst abuse I’ve ever seen on testing with animals,” said animal activist Jane Goodall.
Not only did rampant animal abuse occur, but new information revealed that some test results were falsified. If a test did not yield favorable or expected results, employees were forced to doctor documents.
As a result of this abuse and torture, criminal charges have been brought against the lab. The facility will shut down as soon as its final monkey test is completed. A wholesale facility in the Netherlands has pledged to take the monkeys although what will happen to the other animals is unclear. The company has two other locations, and activists are calling for guarantees that the animals will not be moved there and that those labs will also be shut down.
“We call on the LPT and the authorities to hand over the dogs, cats and monkeys caged in Mienenbuttel to animal welfare and to enable them to live a life of happiness and self-determination for some of those animals who have suffered there for years,” said a spokesperson from Soko Tierschutz.
In the face of uncertainty, Soko Tierschutz’s Friedrich Mulln is optimistic.“We can find space for every animal,” he said. “People will not allow these animals who have suffered for years at the lab to suffer more or be slaughtered.”
Although there is still much work to be done, we are thrilled that the lab is closing its doors and thank all the activists and readers who took action to help end this abuse.
