University labs kill off lab animals because of pandemic

[Catherine]

There is no doubt it is not quite business as usual during the pandemic. One difference is the university labs. Most animal experiments are on hold . So the labs are simply killing their animals. There is no big public announcement. Researches are simply discarding their animals and by discarding I mean killing.
It is a massive number of animals being disposed of because they are not needed at this time.

https://www.peta.org/blog/coronavirus-an...lege-labs/


This article gives a more personal view on the animal killings.

https://sentientmedia.org/the-sac-rack-d...s-in-labs/

We question the need  to use animals to do tests in research labs. If those animals can be discarded so quickly were they ever needed in the first place.
Animal experiments are outdated ways of doing research. The results are questionable. Now it seems they can stop using animals even in the middle of a research project. How about not using animals in the first place.

They never even tried to find homes for any of the animals. They were just disposed of with no regard for the fact that they are living beings.
I think as we get through this pandemic we need to rethink how we do things. Somethings should not be resumed when this is over.
Lab experiments on animals definitely should not be resumed.

[LPC]

Excellent points, Catherine. "Researchers are simply discarding their animals and by discarding I mean killing." That's exactly it. "Discard" is the word - as if an animal life can be disposed of, like a piece of garbage into the bin, because it is not needed.

Stories like this make me despair about some humans.

[Catherine]

They discard them because they are not important to their research. So why do they need to use these animals in the first place?

In the face of this pandemic we need to rethink the way we do a lot of things.  Labs that routinely use hundreds of animals need to ask if any of these animal death are necessary. 

Quote:Stories like this make me despair about some humans.

I am out there working in the pandemic world and I am seeing a lot of very bad behavior. People are using this time as an excuse for really bad manners. 
Hearing that a lab is killing its animals doesn't surprize me.  I have been assaulted on the bus and I have people run at me because I am wearing medical gloves and masks. I have to do that as part of my client safety/personal safety protocols. I am a front line worker. Why would someone attack me or deliberately endanger me when I am just doing my job.

Killing lab animals just fits with the rest of the bad behavior I see.

[LPC]

(05-31-2020, 04:33 PM)Catherine Wrote: I have been assaulted on the bus and I have people run at me because I am wearing medical gloves and masks.

???   Is this a USA/Canadian thing? I have read that many right-wingers in the USA are very aggressive to anyone they see wearing a mask, but I thought that Canada was more reasonable. Maybe not? You are doing your job responsibly, Catherine, and I find it hard to imagine how anyone could attack or abuse you for that.

Here in France, the virus is dying off fast (thanks to strict controls before), but even now the wearing of masks is still compulsory in many enclosed settings (especially pharmacies) and anywhere where distancing cannot be followed. The vast majority of people are still wearing masks in supermarkets over here and there are spacing rules for checkouts and plexiglass between cashiers and public.

[Catherine]

Quote:???   Is this a USA/Canadian thing? I have read that many right-wingers in the USA are very aggressive to anyone they see wearing a mask, but I thought that Canada was more reasonable. Maybe not? You are doing your job responsibly, Catherine, and I find it hard to imagine how anyone could attack or abuse you for that.

There is a certain hostility towards front line workers from some people. I have been verbally assaulted as well for just using ordinary caution.
I have had people block bus and subway doors so I couldn't get on or off. On Friday a guy just pushed me aside so he could get on the streetcar before I  got off. That would have been bad manners before the pandemic. Many people are using very bad manners and they are using defying the pandemic lockdown as an excuse for those bad manners.

I am glad to hear that people are behaving better in France. That is why the virus is dying out. We never made wearing masks compulsory so things are dragging out for us. You are making the responsible choices and you are benefitting from them.

We had to close off a major urban park during cherry blossom season because they were sure people would not behave. Two young men climbed the barricades  during the night and damaged the trees and urinated on them. There were cameras set up so we all got to see it happen.

Last week the city started to open parks again and thousands of people swarmed a park not far from me. They were not wearing masks. They did not observe social distancing.  Also some of the people urinated and pooped in people's yards surrounding the park.
This is shockingly bad behavior.
Our daily new case numbers reflect our behavior.

I think it might be worse in the USA or at least in some parts of the USA. Some parts of Canada are doing better. Ontario is thee second worst province and Toronto may be one of the worst cities in Canada right now. So when I go out to work I face the danger of the virus and I face a second danger from people. They are unpredictable so I can never relax for a moment when I am in public. There are some bus routes I won't ride on any more. There are stores I won't go into because they are too out of control. 
Sometimes when I get home, I am too tired to eat. I can't wait for this to be over.