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A German animal testing lab is likely to shut down following an undercover exposé, reports suggest.
Cruelty Free International, working with SOKO Tierschutz, filmed multiple incidences of extreme suffering, including ‘monkeys restrained in barbaric devices’ and ‘dogs left to suffer when it was clear that they were very ill and even dying’ at Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology (LPT).
Media reports branded the facility a ‘horror lab’ as a result of the graphic footage.
‘Growing speculation’
Now Cruelty Free International says there ‘appears to be growing speculation that authorities in Lower Saxony and LPT GmbH & Co. KG have reached agreement about the imminent closure of the company’s Mienenbuettel site’, which carries out toxicity testing for global pharmaceutical, industrial, and agrochemical companies.
If this is the case, the charity urges, this should not be ‘the end of the story’.
More information
“We are heartened by news that LPT Mienenbuettel may imminently be closed and that animals will no longer suffer behind its doors,” Cruelty Free International’s Director of Science, Dr Katy Taylor, said.
“However, we hope that any news of the closure is accompanied by information on action that the authorities intend to take to make sure that any animals who remain at the site are promptly and compassionately rehomed and that action will be taken against the company for cruelty and legal infringements.
“LPT has two other animal testing sites that must also come under intense scrutiny. We believe that the company as a whole should be stopped from conducting animal experiments based on the evidence from our investigation.
“Our investigation has highlighted the failure of the German government to uphold European rules on animals used in experiments. Not only should they be held accountable for that by the EU, but the EU itself must look closely at whether those rules are fit for purpose.”
