Swiss pharmaceutical firm lets dogs die cruel death
Dogs are being left to die in agony in Germany after lab testing for the Swiss pharma company Inthera Bioscience, reports Swiss public television, SRF.
The dogs are young beagles, who are given high doses of substances for experiments on behalf of the Swiss biotech company, according to SRF. They are then left to die in agony with no care.
The report carries disturbing photos by an employee of the animal protection organisation Soko Tierschutz. This employee got himself hired as a carer in the LPTExternal link animal testing laboratory in Hamburg, and documented for several months what was happening there, says the report.
The pictures show tubes being inserted into a dog’s stomach and a test substance injected to find the dose at which severe side effects including death occur. The scenes show how the dogs suffer unnecessarily before their death, as they are left to die in agony.
SRF says that the laboratory is violating international welfare regulations and that such proceedings would not be permitted in Switzerland.
It quotes Friedrich Mülln of Soko Tierschutz as saying that such experiments are easier to carry out in Germany. “It is cheaper and the authorisation is simpler,” he says.
Asked for a response, Swiss firm Inthera Bioscience wrote that the authorities have approved all tests but that the company would suspend further cooperation with the service provider, LPT, until it had a “clear picture of the situation”.
LPT declined to answer specific questions but said such experiments were within the law and that its treatment of animals had never been questioned. An investigation into the service provider’s practices has been opened by the competent authorities following these findings, says SRF.
More
More
Stats show fewer animal experiments
This content was published on
Animal testing dropped by around 5% in 2018, latest figures show.
University students in Switzerland join Gaza protest wave
This content was published on
Pro-Palestinian activists occupied university buildings in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich on Tuesday, widening the protest movement in the Alpine nation.
TradeXBank to resume full operations after Sberbank Switzerland taken off sanctions list
This content was published on
TradeXBank, the former Swiss branch of Russia’s Sberbank, will be able to resume its dollar-denominated activities from the second half of this year.
Geneva decides not to remove controversial memorials
This content was published on
The city of Geneva has presented an action plan regarding a series of controversial local statues and monuments of historical figures linked to racism, colonialism or slavery.
University of Lausanne calls for end to pro-Palestine sit-in
This content was published on
The pro-Palestinian occupation continues at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). On Monday evening, a group of students refused to agree to the deadline set by the rectorate.
Ukraine peace conference should include Russia, says Chinese ambassador
This content was published on
China supports a peace conference on the Ukraine war that would see equal participation of all parties, says Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui.
This content was published on
A majority of Swiss citizens have open attitudes towards various infertility treatments, including even egg donation, which is currently prohibited.
Reports of Swiss cyber fraud almost doubled in six months
This content was published on
The head of the new Federal Office for Cybersecurity (FOC), Florian Schütz, has presented a new strategy after just over four months in office.
Should journalists be more critical of research involving animals?
This content was published on
An anti-animal testing advocate and a science journalist address the Swiss media’s role in the debate over research involving animals.
This content was published on
The Swiss authorities have registered a major increase in militant animal rights activities last year, according to a newspaper report.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.