New Hope for Lab Animals
A campaign to require the re-homing of animals used in laboratories has been launched this week. The “Out Of The Labs”
campaign is a joint effort from HUHA (Helping You Help Animals) and NZAVS (New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society).
Currently the most common fate for thousands of non-livestock animals is to be killed after they have been used. The
groups aim to change this.
Both organisations say they are opposed to the use of animals as testing and research tools but until the day that is
abolished it is essential to secure the best possible outcomes for the animals. The campaign has a petition asking for a
law change to make rehoming research and breeding animals the first option when they are disposed of.
Direct approaches to over a hundred facilities using animals in New Zealand have been made offering to rehome animals.
To date, none has taken up the offers extended even though the charities involved have said they’ll pay all expenses and
make it as easy as possible.
HUHA founder, Carolyn Press-McKenzie, said “We would like to see research facilities made more accountable for the lives
in their charge. Currently laboratories are ending an animal’s life as a convenient disposal solution, we consider this
inhumane and it needs to stop. There is enough pain and suffering to animals at the hands of science, if death can be
avoided it should be. No animal deserves to be treated as disposable”
HUHA have already rehomed beagles from a breeding facility that supplied animals to an animal research centre. “We
successfully rehomed all of the beagles we managed to get in 2011 and were swamped with offers of homes for them. We
know we can help many more animals that will never see the outside of a cage otherwise live out their lives in great
homes” Ms Press-McKenzie added.
NZAVS has a long history of working to stop vivisection as animals cannot accurately model humans, “We are proud to
support HUHA in this initiative. It is something that there is a global push for and is already part of Australia’s code
for lab animals. The killing and disposing of animals that were used for vivisection happens behind closed doors every
day in New Zealand. This change is long overdue. The killing needs to end. The testing needs to end.” said NZAVS
spokesperson Stephen Manson.
The organisers of the Out Of The Labs campaign invite all New Zealanders to support the campaign. “Any decent person
when asked if lab animals should be rehomed with loving people, or killed and treated like a piece of disposable
equipment, will see there’s only one acceptable option. We need a change to let them live out of the labs. We can do
this together” they said. More information about the campaign is on the official website at www.outofthelabs.org.nz.
ENDS