Showing support against animal testing |24 April 2020

Image source: Veggies Catering Campaign

World Day For Animals in Laboratories is observed every year on April 24 with the aim of showing support against the use of animals being used in labs for research.

The use of animals in research continues to be a controversial topic with some people advocating for the benefits that it brings to our health and wellbeing, while others are strongly against the suffering that the animals endure.

It is in this light that Seychelles NATION spoke to a Seychellois who studied Biomedical Science to obtain his personal opinions on this matter, and to learn more about his thesis where he had to use a type of animal for scientific research.

He first explains that in most cases, before humans can benefit from a certain type of medication, vaccine or even cosmetic, these have to be thoroughly tested on animals before they are deemed safe for use on us.

Through the use of animal testing, despite its long and ugly history, he adds that we have been able to learn a great deal, particularly in medicine. According to the Medical Daily site, out of 98 Nobel prizes awarded for Physiology or Medicine, 75 were directly dependent on research done on animals.

The interviewee shares an example through his personal experience conducting scientific research that made use of a small marine animal known as Hydractinia Echinata (which has an abundance of a certain type of stem cells called pluripotent stem cells throughout its life).

This research was done during his Master’s Degree with other scientists and what they learned during this time was later published in a well-known scientific journal.

The basis of the research was to study certain genes inside the stem cells of this animal and to understand how these genes were involved in neurogenesis (the formation of nerve cells).

It is worth noting that the pluripotent stem cells found in these animals are also known as embryonic stem cells which are also found in human embryos – a highly controversial topic where research in them has been banned in many countries.  

As we all know, in most cases when nerve cells are damaged, they cannot regenerate and it is therefore imperative that more research is done to fully understand how we can make use of stem cells as a therapy. This will allow humans to be able to regenerate part of our nervous system and hopefully treat conditions such as paralysis or neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

The interviewee continues by saying that despite the many benefits that can be attributed to animal research, in many cases these animals are subjected to harsh conditions which leads to them suffering, having a poor quality life, and they can also die while in the lab or they can be killed so that the experiments can be accomplished.