It is immoral to use animals as “research tools” or “live specimens”. What’s more, no species can act as a reliable organic model for another. One Voice is acting to abolish animal experimentation and to develop the use of substitute methods.
It is immoral to reduce animals to research objects. The lives of animals are not respected in farms, laboratories or research centres. Hidden camera investigations and animal rescues among other operations carried out by One Voice prove, if proof were necessary, the suffering to which these animals are subjected. So, our association wants to see animal experimentation abolished, particularly as many recent events tend to call into question the animal model as a reliable organic model for another species.
Use of substitute methods
Whether in developing products or in university research, One Voice is campaigning for the use of substitute methods. More reliable, cheaper and with quicker results, these methods would prevent suffering and would save the lives of the millions of cats, dogs, mice, horses, monkeys, birds, sheep, goats and fish used in laboratories every year. The association has also funded the demonstration of the effectiveness of the toxic gene test, a method that is now recognised by the European Union in study the toxic effects of chemicals.
The label : a concrete
One Voice has been working alongside the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments to create the “cruelty free” standard and has developed its own label. The label certifies that no animal testing was used either in developing beauty products or in their ingredients and has been extended to cover animal feed and will soon cover cleaning and food products. With this label, One Voice is providing a concrete response for consumers who are increasingly concerned by this area and is encouraging an individual and non-violent citizen commitment.
Changing legislation
The association is also lobbying French and European authorities intensely to change legislation and speed up the introduction and application of practical, modern rules that do not use animals. This is a change that a great majority of the French population want to see: 85% of them are in favour of banning animal experiments where it has been shown that substitute methods exist (Ipsos/One Voice Study – February 2003).
As part of its fight against animal experiments, One Voice is also campaigning to ban genetic manipulation, cloning, xenografts, and other procedures which defy all ethics and fly in the face of nature and every year condemn more and more animals, notably millions of mice. The lives of our four-legged companions and our cousins the primates are also too often sacrificed in the name of profit masquerading as scientific progress.
Raising awareness
One Voice is campaigning through its actions and the positions it takes to make the public aware of the suffering inflicted on animals. It is calling on each person to make a commitment to respect all living beings, more particularly the 12 million victims of animal experiments in Europe. Convinced that non-violence is the basis of a modern society, One Voice is encouraging each citizen to adopt ethical behaviour, both in their choice of lifestyle and in the way they consume.
“We have never found a reliable model for the human eye in any animal species, neither in terms of anatomy nor in terms of reaction to irritation”.
Docteur D. Swanston, researcher at Porton Down
Figures for animal experiments :
12.1 million animals used for animal experiments in the EU’s 27 countries
3 countries carry out 50 % of tests on animals: in descending order, France, the United Kingdom and Germany
33% of animals used by scientific research. No direct results in medical terms.
+ 892 % for the number of tests carried out to develop pet food
+ 107 % for cosmetics tests although directive 2003/15/CE is intended to ban the use of animals
+ 4.86 % in France for the number of animals used in relation to 2001
+ 140 000 mice used in France in relation to 2001
336 727 kills in France, with 285 dogs and 229 primates
(Extracts from the European Commission’s 2005 Statistical Report and the 2004 Statistical Report by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research)
