Why only dogs?

ALL ANIMAL TESTING. The fight to end all animal testing is painfully frustrating, no more so than for the charities, campaigns & individuals that continue to push for change. We experience heartache over & over when our government dismisses evidence, avoids legitimate challenges & continues to peddle the myths. The same myths heard for decades.

Whether we like it or not, this is a long, drawn out fight against a hugely powerful, rich, stubborn enemy. Animal testing will not end in one fell swoop. And from the rich and powerful people in control, there doesn’t seem to be an appetite or motivation to change. We are against all animal testing and wish more than anything that it would end. But we are realistic and understand that a strategic, targeted, long term campaign is necessary. We absolutely support everyone fighting for the end to all animal testing, and think it is abhorrent, cruel, outdated – nowhere near enough has been done to put a stop to it.

There are some amazing organisations that work tirelessly on… changing the behaviours of researchers * fundraising for biotech and new technologies. * raising awareness and taking direct action * educating young scientists * pushing public affairs work * achieving small, but significant, political progress 

HOUNDED’S PART. We hope to help as a small, targeted part of the overall mission. By breaking the long term goal down into smaller short term missions, we believe has a better chance of success. The short term mission we chose is to campaign for a ban on testing on dogs in the UK. 

If we were to be successful, it would be huge victory for the thousands of dogs that suffer and die in labs each year, and it would be strategically important. It would be a positive leap forward, set a precedent, and be a step in the right direction overall. By sharing the facts & growing our following, we will be shining a light on what happens in the world of animal experimentation. No species has been added to the exemption list since Great Apes were banned from experiments in 1998. Exempting dogs would be a big change in a system that is resisting any meaningful progress.

We believe strongly that testing on dogs is morally wrong. Dogs are our family, our best friends. Their level of sentience is similar to a child’s, they feel LOVE, happiness, comfort… and they feel dread, stress, fear. Experimenting on dogs is cruel. The beagle breed is chosen for being submissive & forgiving. How can we allow this to continue? 

We also believe testing on dogs is scientifically unnecessary. We have the technology & the intelligence to do better. The benefits are speculative & overstated. 75% of experiments in Europe are being carried out when there are validated alternatives. Dogs are mostly used in toxicology studies where there are already proven alternatives that are just not used. There is so much scientific evidence against the use of dogs, plus a strong case for human-relevant science & an economic case to be made too.

At Hounded, the moral argument is enough. But for those who are unsure, we share evidence against the use of dogs in research & science. We won’t stop until we put an end to this cruelty to dogs in the name of science in the UK.