HLS unmasked once again.
SHAC - 16.02.2011 13:47
Previously unseen research papers, which were anonymously sent to the Stop
Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) campaign at the start of 2011, have shed new
light on shocking experiments carried out by controversial testing laboratory
Huntingdon Life Sciences.
Download the 12 page investigative report - HLS Unmasked:
 http://www.shac.net/HLS/HLS_Unmasked2011.pdf
The research papers detail invasive experiments which took place on rats, mice,
rabbits and rhesus monkeys at HLS' Cambridgeshire and New Jersey laboratories
between the years 2001 and 2010. Substances tested included unleaded gas [1],
grape seed extract [2], a PCB which has been banned since 1979 [3], Botox [4],
soybean fiber [5], and paraffin wax [6]. There were also several duplicate
tests for a food additive known as PVA [7], [8] and experiments to test a
fragrance that occurs naturally in plants, which is used in cosmetics and
perfumes [9], [10]. An entire summary of all 11 shocking documents can be found
in our investigative report, 'HLS Unmasked', which can be downloaded from the
above link.
All products tested in the documents have already been tested on animals in
previous years, resulting in a wealth of data already being available which
could be used in place of repeat experiments. In addition, all products that
were tested are already circulating on the market, and are already used by
humans around the globe on a daily basis. Despite this, thousands of animals
have been poisoned and killed inside HLS to pass these products as ‘safe’ -
products which are already being consumed by the human population in vast
quantities. Furthermore, the vast majority of the substances tested are used
mainly in cosmetic products – such as perfumes, soap, and detergents [9] –
and are a far cry from the 'essential, life-saving research' that HLS claim to
be conducting.
It must also be pointed out that the tests carried out at HLS do not provide
any indication as to the actual safety of the substances in question. One
document involving the use of rats to test a naturally-occurring scent known as
'coumarin', rather frankly concludes that “the rat is a very poor model for
humans, and toxicity in the rat cannot be extrapolated to humans” [9].
Another experiment, in which rats are force fed paraffin wax, the conclusion
states that the results proved to be “of questionable relevance for human
safety evaluation” [6]. This is regardless of the fact that HLS use rats for
most of their toxicity testing, yet they openly choose when to uphold or
discard the results depending on their desirability. This is extremely
dangerous when it comes to safety testing, which should always be based upon
reliable, scientific models that give a firm indication of how a product might
affect the human body. Instead, HLS choose to use a cheaper and slightly
quicker route which they themselves admit cannot even be relied upon for safety
evaluation in humans.
These documents are yet more evidence of the sheer lunacy behind the kinds of
animal experiments that are allowed to continue inside places like Huntingdon
Life Sciences - experiments which must end. HLS have been exposed previously as
testing coffee sweetener Splenda [11], cleaning chemicals [12], mushroom
extract [13], fermented vegetables [14] on animals. All animals were killed
either during or after experimentation took place.
Says Debbie Vincent of SHAC, “these new research papers reveal, once again,
the true horror and idiocy of this failing laboratory. When they are not
getting exposed for gross misconduct or severe animal welfare breaches, they
are thrust into the spotlight for testing bizarre and useless products on
animals – products which we all use already on a daily basis. While cosmetic
testing is supposedly banned in the UK, here we see products which are largely
used in cosmetics still being tested on vast numbers of animals at HLS. We
strongly condemn all experimentation on animals, but this blatant abuse of a
gaping legal loophole regarding cosmetic testing is absolutely not acceptable.
HLS must finally be made accountable for their cruel and unnecessary
experiments which are taking place on a regular basis behind locked doors.”
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References
[1] ‘Developmental toxicity evaluation of unleaded gasoline vapor in the
rat’, Reproductive Toxicology 15 (2001) 487–494
[2] ‘Subchronic 3 month oral toxicity study of grape seed and grape skin
extracts’, Food and Chemical Toxicology 40 (2002) 1731–1743
[3] ‘Dermal Absorption in Rhesus Monkeys of Polychlorinated Biphenyls from
Soil Contaminated with Aroclor 1260’, Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology
35, 289–295 (2002)
[4] ‘Intramuscular injection of 125I botulinum neurotoxin complex versus 125I
botulinum-free neurotoxin time course of tissue distribution’, Toxicon 42
(2003) 461–469
[5] ‘Soluble soybean fiber a 3 month dietary toxicity study in rats’, Food
and Chemical Toxicology 41 (2003) 1111–1121
[6] ‘Comparative 90 day dietary study of paraffin wax in Fischer 344 and
Sprague Dawley rats’, Food and Chemical Toxicology 48 (2010) 363–372
[7] ‘Subchronic toxicity study in rats and genotoxicity tests with polyvinyl
alcohol’, Food and Chemical Toxicology 41 (2003) 719–727
[8] ‘Effects of polyvinyl alcohol administered in the diet to rats on
fertility, early embryonic development, growth and development’, Food and
Chemical Toxicology 41 (2003) 729–737
[9] ‘The in vivo dermal absorption and metabolism of [4-14C] coumarin by rats
and by human volunteers under simulated conditions of use in fragrances’,
Food and Chemical Toxicology 39 (2001) 153 – 162
[10] ‘Comparative metabolism and kinetics of coumarin in mice and rats’,
Food and Chemical Toxicology 41 (2003) 247–258
[11] 'The Pharmacokinetics and Metabolism of Sucralose in the Dog', Food and
Chemical Toxicology 38 (Suppl. 2) (2000) S99±S106,
http://www.shac.net/HLS/what_tests.html
[12] Development of an occupational exposure limit for n-propylbromide using
benchmark dose methods, Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, August 2004,
http://www.shac.net/HLS/research_papers/cleaningchemical.pdf
[13] Himematsutake (Iwade Strain 101) extract (ABM-FD):
Genetic toxicology and a 3-month dietary toxicity study in rats, Food and
Chemical Toxicology 46 (2008) 1949–1959, T. Sumiya a, Y. Ikeda a, A.
Broadmeadow b,*, K. Mayb, Pritchard b, C. Horne b, B. Burlinson B.
http://www.shac.net/HLS/research_papers/mushroomextract.pdf
[14] Safety assessment of Lactobacillus brevis KB290 as a probiotic strain,
Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology, July 2009.
http://www.shac.net/HLS/research_papers/2009%20HLS%20vegetable%20study.pdf
Find a HLS customer near you and remind them that abusing animals and funding
the torture inside HLS is the wrong choice and lets get out onto the streets
for the animals! See: www.shac.net/action/top_targets/toptargets.html
If you need any flyers or posters for demos, just get in touch, thank you for
your continued support.
SHAC
 E-Mail: info@shac.net  Website: http://shac.net
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