Animal tests suspended in Spanish laboratory after videos on terrible cruelty

The organization Cruelty Free International documented, through a video, the torture and abuse inflicted on animals at the Vivotecnia laboratory in Madrid.

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

Tortured, beheaded and stunned animals: chilling images are shown in a film published by the organization Cruelty Free International (CFI). Filming took place between 2018 and 2020 in Madrid, in the animal testing center Vivotechnics, which performs experiments on various species, including dogs, mice, rabbits and monkeys, for the cosmetic, chemical and agrochemical industries. Following the release of the gruesome videos, the Madrid authorities have decided to suspend activities in the laboratory and start an investigation to shed light on the abuses committed.

The video released by Cruelty Free International (CFI) reveals all the unprecedented cruelty of these camps for defenseless animals, in which they are treated exclusively as guinea pigs and not as sentient beings. Poor animals are slapped, shaken violently, jerked, pinned to the table and dissected, subjected to torture, often without anesthesia, and even killed in front of other specimens. Many animals, especially rabbits, who suffer spinal injuries due to manipulation by laboratory operators. As can be seen from the video, in many cases they are forced to ingest drugs and other chemicals that cause internal bleeding, breathing difficulties and can lead to death.

"This footage shows once again the dark side of regulatory animal toxicity testing." - comments Dr. Katy Taylor, director of science and regulatory affairs at Cruelty Free International (CFI). - We have discovered a horrendous mixture of suffering and cruelty in the way animals are housed, handled and abused in toxicity tests, as well as countless violations of Spanish and EU legislation. It is unthinkable that this will happen in Europe. The European Commission tells us that Directive 2010/63 not only protects animals used in science, but also provides a strategy to replace animal testing. He does neither one nor the other. "

An investigation released by Cruelty Free International has revealed the horrific suffering and cruelty endured by…

Posted by Cruelty Free International on Friday, April 9, 2021

To watch the video CLICK HERE (ATTENTION! STRONG IMAGES).

In the laboratory, animal welfare is respected only in words

The images made public by the Cruelty Free International investigation confirm, once again, the lack of coherence between the words and deeds of those who work in animal testing laboratories. Here, in fact, is what Vivotecnia says on the website about its commitment to animal welfare:

“The welfare of animals used for research purposes is of fundamental importance for Vivotecnia, as well as rigorous compliance and compliance with current legislation on the protection of animals used in research and for other scientific purposes, including education. Our goal is to achieve the highest standards of animal welfare, not only from the point of view of our moral responsibility towards them, but also because we are convinced that we could not achieve research excellence without adequate animal welfare. Our animal experiments follow legal standards and are evaluated by an Ethics Committee on Animal Testing which promotes the use of alternative methods, the reduction of the number of animals used and the refinement in applied experimental protocols.

All Vivotecnia work procedures comply with the EU Directive (2010/63 / EU) and the Spanish Regulation (RD 53/2013). "

Before seeing the video, Vivotecnia CEO Andres König denied the abuse of animals. "We work at all times to ensure the quality of our work, always taking into account the welfare of the animals" - he told the Guardian, who had reported the news. - “We would like to underline that in Vivotecnia Research the welfare of animals is a fundamental priority. Vivotechnics work procedures adhere to the European Union directive (2010/63 / EU) for the protection of experimental animals, as well as to the royal decree RD 53/2013 which establishes the basic rules applicable for the protection of animals used for experimental purposes and other scientific purposes. "

However, after seeing those terribly raw scenes, König had to admit that the welfare of the animals was not respected at all.

"Some images are particularly shocking to me, as they go directly against the written protocols of the company that all the personnel involved must know and respect" - he declared - "They clearly do not represent respect for the experimental animal and strategies to avoid the possible damage and stress that we have tried to instill since the birth of Vivotecnia ".

Cruelty Free International's demands to stop animal abuse

After the disclosure of the gruesome video, the organization Cruelty Free International requested the intervention of the institutions to stop the violence perpetrated against the animals of the Spanish laboratory, also launching a petition.

BREAKING: The Comunidad de Madrid has suspended activities at #Vivotecnia following our revelation of cruelty and abuse…

Posted by Cruelty Free International on Sunday, April 11, 2021

"We ask the Madrid authorities to immediately revoke Vivotecnia's license to carry out experiments and the closure of the plant." - reads the Cruelty Free International website - We also ask for an urgent review by the European Union of all tests of toxicity and an action plan that sets a roadmap for ending animal testing. "

Following the release of the video, the Madrid government has finally intervened. The coordinating attorney for the Environment, Antonio Vercher, has in fact decided to start an investigation on the abuses committed within the Vivotecnia laboratory. And, as anticipated, at the moment the activities of the Spanish center have been suspended. We hope that justice will be done for the poor animals and in a definitive closure of this place of horrors!

Source: Cruelty Free International/El País