Today April 24 is World Day for Lab Animals and has been observed globally and in New Zealand since 1979. A series of events were held across the world yesterday to draw attention to the use of animals in research and testing.

The New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society (NZAVS) hosted the NZ based events, with Wellington Animal Rights Network collaborating in Wellington. Volunteers were subjected to some of the procedures animals endure in laboratories. The event organisers said the day was a great success with many people being taken aback what they saw after having no idea it occurred in New Zealand.

“It is estimated that over 115 million animals are used for laboratory experiments around the world, ever year” said NZAVS Campaign Manager Tara Jackson, “as well as being done here we contribute to this global figure when NZ companies contract animal testing out abroad.”

“These animals are suffering pointlessly as animal based research doesn’t reliably predict human responses. To get drugs and medicines that will help people, we need to be using human based research, it’s time we stopped pretending that we’re 70kg rats” said Jackson.

The events were held in busy central city spots in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, and outside the Hercus Building in Dunedin which houses an animal research laboratory. Coordinated events were also held across Australia and in the UK and US

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