Tel Aviv protesters rally
Tel Aviv protesters rally against animal experimentation By Daniel Ben-Tal Hundreds of demonstrators called for a halt to scientific experiments on animals at a rally outside the Tel Aviv Museum last night. The event coincided with the International Day for Animal Rights. "Hundreds of thousands of dogs, cats, mice, pigs, monkeys, rabbits, and other animals die under duress during scientific experiments every year in Israel," said Kobi Meirov, spokesman of the Israeli Society for the Abolition of Vivisection. "They are exposed to poisons, burns, paralysis, blindness, and are even operated [on] without anesthetic and endure extreme pain." The demonstrators called for the monkey farm at Moshav Mazor near Petah Tikva to be closed immediately. "The farm is a purely commercial venture that pays little heed to the monkeys´ welfare," said Meirov. "About 200 monkeys, originally imported from Mauritius, are held there in minimal conditions that make them become apathetic, and the mothers bear more offspring than usual." The demonstrators also singled out the Israeli branch of Harlan, a leading supplier of live animals to the potentially lucrative field of biotechnological research. In 1994, the Knesset passed the Animal Experiments Law aimed at limiting the number of inhumane procedures on animals. The Council for Animal Experiments was established soon afterward to monitor the law´s enforcement. "The council members say that about 250,000 animals die in experiments every year in Israel, although they don´t really know themselves," Meirov said. "We say that the number is far higher. The council does not do its work properly because it has no mandate - it´s just a rubber stamp." MK Eitan Cabel (Labor), who was unable to attend the rally due to military reserve duty, has introduced a bill in the Knesset mandating that all products whose development or production involves experimentation on live animals be clearly marked. The bill has passed its preliminary reading. © 1995-2002, The Jerusalem Post http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2002/04/22/News/News.47433.html
