Ricky Gervais Supports Campaign To Ban Dog Cruelty Practices

Actors Ricky Gervais and Peter Egan, have backed a campaign to save thousands of dogs from animal testing - what they call is a “terrible cruelty.” 

For Life On Earth campaign calls for a public scientific debate on claims that animal testing is necessary.

More than 175 MPs back the call, along with Dr Jane Goodall, Chris Packham and Paul O’Grady.

According to recent studies in biology and genetics, animals have no predictive value for human response to drugs or the pathophysiology of human diseases.

Ricky Gervais, said: “I’m deeply shocked to learn that thousands of beautiful Beagles are intensively bred, right here in the peace of the British countryside, for painful and terrifying toxicity experiments that are also now proven to entirely fail the search for human treatments and cures.”

“Please help us raise awareness of this appalling state of affairs. Help me ban the factory farming of dogs with a thorough public scientific hearing, to judge the outdated and false claims about human medicine which continue to fund this terrible cruelty to man’s best friend.”

Peter Egan, added: “With the recent passing of Finns Law Part Two, cruelty to dogs and other animals comes with an up to five years prison sentence. I am appalled, therefore, to learn that thousands of dogs are incarcerated in intensive breeding units, right here in the UK, to prepare them for frightening and painful experiments that can involve being force-fed chemicals for up to 90 days, with no pain relief or anaesthetic.

“Experts in the scientific community report widely on the failure of these procedures in the search for human treatments and cures, including the Editor in Chief of the British Medical Journal and the FDA, which states that nine out of ten new medicines fail to pass clinical trials because animals cannot predict human responses”

TV stars have joined with Dr. Lisa Cameron MP, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Dog Welfare (APDAWG), to launch a new Parliamentary Early Day Motion 175, which calls for the Government to mandate a rigorous public scientific hearing on claims that experiments on dogs, and other animals, can predict the responses of humans.

Dr. Lisa Cameron MP said: “Dogs are man’s best friend, yet thousands of Beagles are bred every year in the UK, for painful toxicity experiments that are today widely reported to be failing the search for human treatments and cures. Please join me in asking the Government to mandate this science hearing: ask your MP to sign EDM 175.”

Shalin Gala from PETA said: “Dogs’ status as “man’s best friend” should mean they’re protected from living in a prison cage, desperate for affection and freedom while being abused in excruciatingly painful experiments.In the UK, the government is ignoring studies that show dogs’ psychological and physical needs go out the window when they’re treated as nothing more than test tubes with paws.

“Unlike dog torture, human-relevant approaches such as human cell cultures, high-speed computer simulations, and organs-on-chips increase our understanding of human disease, accelerate drug development, and benefit humans and animals alike.”

Animals are commonly used for tests of new drugs for serious illness such as diabetes, cancer, asthma and many others.  Currently, the UK law requires all new medicines to be tested on two animals before being allowed on the market and given to human. One of the animals has to be a rodent and another one is a non-rodent animals - laboratories commonly use dogs. 96% of these dogs are Beagles. In 2019 4,227 dogs were used in medical experiments.