Use of pets for laboratory tests is legal

Hyderabad: Laboratories keep various breeds of dogs and cats for conducting tests. This is allowed under the law which only prohibits experiments on wild animals. Animal welfare experts say the death rate for animals in such labs is high. Animals on which tests are not conducted are rehabilitated.

A source from a well-known lab, who didn’t want to be named, said, “There is a drastic shift in the testing methodology of laboratories. Earlier, tests were conducted on non-human primates like monkeys, gorillas and chimpanzees. This has been dwindling due to huge criticism and international pressure and it became imperative for labs to shift from wild to domesticated animals, as they are not protected under the Wildlife Act. Domesticated animals that are preferred are donkeys, horses, rabbits, guinea pigs and now dogs and cats have been added.”

The source added that “the fatality rate is high mainly because of lethal drugs doses. The animals turn drug-dependent too. Companies manufacturing antibiotics and certain life-saving drugs use animals for testing. However, not all companies are permitted, thus they give the consignment to licensed laboratories. There are companies that test on a specific breed of animal.”
In certain cases, licensed companies are not permitted to use animals for testing, thus they are returned for rehabilitation.