The animal facilities of the research laboratories, where live the guinea pigs on which the scientists attempt experiments, are a source of great tension with the defenders of the animal cause. Measures have been taken to reduce the impact of searches.
The animal facilities of research laboratories are in the sights of animal defense associations, which are calling for an end to experiments. This is where the rats, fish and primates are raised which will serve as guinea pigs for scientists. And the tensions can be significant. So much so that it is impossible to communicate the name of the person in charge of the animal facility of the Institut de la Vision in Paris and the photos are rare. Caution is required to avoid any risk of reprisals from certain activists.
As its name suggests, the Institut de la Vision is a research institute dedicated to sight. “Here is the rat roomshows us the manager. They are two maximum per cage. They have sticks, kraft paper, houses. And there are the mice. There are many more cages. They have cardboard tubes, small wooden tubes for gnawing. Everything is done to make them feel good.”
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These hundreds of rats, mice or fish are manipulated by researchers like Ignacio, a Bolivian doctoral student who is working at the Vision Institute to develop a system capable of restoring sight to the blind using ultrasound. . For his tests, he uses mice. “First, you have to make sure that the mouse is in a black box, deprived of light but as comfortable as possible”, explains Ignacio. During this behavioral test, the genetically modified mouse receives ultrasound combined with light flashes, under the watchful eye of scientists.
“At the end of the experiment, the animals are euthanized.”
Serge Picaud, director of the Vision Instituteat franceinfo
“Afterwards, we will remove the brain to look at and quantify the neurons that expressed our ultrasound-sensitive protein. There, we showed that they perceive light. We still have to show that they can perceive shapes, continues Serge Picaud, the director of the Institut de la Vision. And once we have demonstrated this, we can start thinking about transferring this approach to patients.”
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Nearly two million guinea pigs used in France
Nearly two million rats, rabbits, fish or primates were thus used in 2021 in France, according to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Research. For animal defense associations, it is too much. They regularly denounce the living conditions and the suffering that animals can suffer in these laboratories. In most cases, the impacts of these experiments are considered moderate or slight for the animal. But in 2021, in 14% of cases, the procedure was classified as severe. Franziska Grein is the scientific policy advisor for the association PETA (For an ethics in the treatment of animals).
“Here, we are talking about animals locked in tubes, forced to inhale toxic substances. If my neighbor did it to his dog, it would end up in prison.”
Franziska Grein, Science Policy Advisor at Petaat franceinfo
“Does it benefit society, people?asks Franziska Grein. We don’t know exactly. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. As a result, we do not understand why we continue these experiments on animals, which do not lead to sure and certain results.
A protocol to minimize the use of animals
Can scientists really do without animals? There are new methods that actually make it possible to avoid using them. Organoids, for example, are simplified organs, made in the laboratory, from cell culture. Developed in three dimensions, they mimic the architecture and functioning of the entire organ. There is also artificial intelligence which allows, for example, to test molecules. Something to replace the animals.
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This is also one of the objectives of the 3 R rule: Replace, Reduce and Refine, explains Anastasia Sotiropoulos, the head of the 3 R committee responsible for promoting this protocol. “We can sometimes use non-animal models, organoids or other, or computer modeling. We will promote that but we can’t replace everything. Saying that is a bit extreme and above ground compared to scientific reality” . When they cannot replace, scientists must, always according to this rule of the 3Rs, reduce the number of animals and refine, that is to say improve their well-being with tranquilizers, painkillers and pet stores in good condition.