EXPERIMENTAL surgery is being conducted on greyhound dogs around the country as doctors warn that dogs do suffer during their captivity and invasive procedures.
The latest Australian government statistics from 2014 show that over six thousand dogs a year are being used for research and teaching behind closed doors.
Humane Research Australia has uncovered a string of cases in which 78 greyhounds, believed to be discarded by the racing industry, have been used in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia for dental, kidney and heart experiments.
HRA CEO Helen Marston said “the experiments are cruel and abusive. They are even further unjustified when we consider the growing evidence that dogs, and other animals, are poorly representative of human biology and diseases.”
Cardiologist Dr John Pippin, Director of Academic Affairs, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, from the United States said: “As a cardiologist who performed similar research using dogs early in my career, I learned two truths that were game-changing for me. First, the dogs used in such research do indeed suffer and of course are killed.
“That cannot be spun into “humane treatment. Second, the differences in canine and human cardiac anatomy, physiology, and genetic determinants are immutable, making any translation of results to humans speculative. For ethical and scientific reasons, the use of dogs or any other animals for research into human diseases and treatments must end.
The revelations about the experiments on greyhounds come after the greyhound racing industry in New South Wales has been shut down following footage showing industry participants were involved in live baiting, mass killings and burials of unwanted dogs.
Legislation has now been passed to prohibit greyhound racing in New South Wales from July 2017.
The unjustified exploitation of “man’s best friend” by an industry fueled by greed and indifference to suffering was found to have subjected countless smaller animals to fear, terror, and extreme suffering as they were used as live bait, and the dogs themselves considered a commodity to be discarded if they were unable to run fast enough and provide a profit.
