National March and Rally in Oxford

 

Saturday April 27th, 2013
Oxford

 

On Saturday April 27th 2013, hundreds of campaigners from across the country marched through Oxford to mark World Day for Animals in Laboratories, a UN recognised date to highlight the millions of animals each year who suffer and die behind the walls of laboratories.

Thanks and well done to all those who helped to make the day a big success. Here we will put photos, videos and links to reports from the day If you have any more, please send them to us and we will put them here. If you want to be kept in touch about future actions, send us your email address and we'll add you to our email list.

Photos

http://www.saveascream.com/features2013wdail.htm

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzIhFg5-DXo

http://www.cherwell.org/cherwelltv/video/2013/04/27/animal-rights-protesters-out-in-force

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMrTuvjJY1I

Oxford has a reputation as a centre of great learning, but there is a dark and sinister side to Oxford University which the tourists and even most of the academics and students never see. Each year over 150,000 animals suffer and die in experiments carried out at the University’s animal testing centre on South Parks Road, far more than any other university. They are among the 115 million animals worldwide who are killed after undergoing often painful and prolonged procedures.

Inflicting pain and suffering on innocent, healthy animals is not just immoral, it also makes no sense scientifically. Those who carry out the experiments claim that anti-vivisection groups are ‘anti-science’, and insist that animal testing is the only way to cure ‘loved ones’ and continue medical progress. This is simply untrue.

The fundamental flaw of animal research is that each species is biologically and physiologically different and responds differently to substances, making animal testing not only unreliable, but a dangerous way to predict effects in humans. In general animals do not get human diseases, so these are artificially induced, resulting in crude and unpredictable animal models.

Treatments passed as safe on animals often produce dangerous side-effects in humans: animal-tested drugs kill 18,000 people each year, and are the 4th biggest cause of premature death after heart disease, cancer and stroke. To know if animal research is successful, predicted effects should be compared with known human effects in a systematic review: time and time again it has been proven that animal tests fail to reflect outcomes in humans.

Progressive, animal-free research exists: scientists are able to use cell or tissue cultures, imaging machines, computer models and volunteer studies. So why do animal experiments continue? Mainly because the powerful and wealthy industries that use animal testing have a vested interest in continuing current methods using animals, as do those scientists who specialise in animal sciences.

It is vital that we make our voices heard against an industry that holds huge influence over government policy and funding. We can improve the quality of our science and the reliability of our medicines as well as stopping the needless suffering.

Donations: The march and rally and other events for World Day in Oxford were organised by a collective of individuals and grass-roots groups. Please consider making a donation to help us to recover some of the costs. Send Cheques/PO’s (payable to 'WDAIL') to WDAIL, BM Box 8623, London WC1N 3XX.

WDAIL, BM Box 8623, London WC1N 3XX.
Telephone: 07749 367799
Email: info@wdail.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/560984513918492

Films of the WDAIL March in Birmingham, 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKBf4PqmNmM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKBf4PqmNmM&feature=channel&list=UL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7vVSup4dxo

Film of the WDAIL March in Manchester, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GcPt8vDlmo&list=UUcCfI7uiSoxsob64BZOGiGQ&index=27

Film of the WDAIL March in London, 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1X8NSZLxDr0

Film of the WDAIL March in London, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em318sQovFE