Ricky Gervais and Jilly Cooper have spoken out following a BUAV investigation that uncovered the shocking killing of very young puppies and kittens in experiments in a UK laboratory.
Undercover video footage taken by the BUAV graphically shows the pitiful plight of these very young animals.
In response to the expose by the BUAV, Ricky Gervais stated: ‘I support the BUAV in their investigation to expose this kind of cruelty. This senseless waste of life cannot be justified. Please join me in asking for it to end.’
Animal-lover, Jilly Cooper, who has dogs of her own said: ‘It is important that BUAV investigations continue to uncover the horrific reality of animals in laboratories. This senseless, needless suffering is utterly appalling so please take action and join the Our Best Friends campaign.’
The BUAV investigation at MSD Animal Health revealed that puppies were separated from their mothers at a very young age, some just over 4 weeks, to be used in tests in contravention of welfare guidelines; the routine killing of puppies from 5 weeks of age and kittens less than 6 months old; the routine killing of healthy female adult beagles once their puppies were taken away from them and a lack of effort to find homes for those adult and puppy beagles who were no longer required or could have been released at the end of the experiments, there is strong support for homing beagles animals from laboratories where possible.
During the BUAV investigation, 92 beagle puppies, 10 adult nursing female beagles and at least 15 kittens were killed at the laboratory.
After the investigation was published in the Sunday Express on March 2nd, celebrities including Wendy Turner Webster, Kirsty Gallagher and Greg Rutherford took to Twitter to express their horror at how the animals had been treated and their support for the BUAV campaign.
The BUAV has launched the Our Best Friends campaign to end the use of thousands of dogs and hundreds of cats in research every year in the UK. Despite widespread public concern about the use of cats and dogs in research, because of the secrecy surrounding animal research very little is known about the suffering they are forced to endure. The BUAV’s revelations about what happens inside one UK laboratory will be especially shocking for the millions of families across the UK who share their homes and lives with cats and dogs.
Footage from the investigation can be viewed here or on YouTube.
The petition can be found here.
