"In fact when the link between human foetal abnormalities and thalidomide was established (through clinical observation), the world-wide explosion of animal testing, using a large range of species, proved very difficult to duplicate the abnormalities. (16) Writing in his book Drugs as Teratogens, J.L. Schardein observes: "In approximately 10 strains of rats, 15 strains of mice, eleven breeds of rabbit, two breeds of dogs, three strains of hamsters, eight species of primates and in other such varied species as cats, armadillos, guinea pigs, swine and ferrets in which thalidomide has been tested teratogenic effects have been induced only occasionally." (17) Eventually after administrating high doses of thalidomide to certain species of rabbit (New Zealand White) and primates could similar abnormalities be found. However researchers pointed out that malformations, like cancer, could occur when practically any substance, including sugar and salt, be given in excessive doses. (16)
All this just reaffirms what many doctors and scientists have been warning for a number of decades-animal experimentation misleads science and any similarity to the human situation is merely a coincidence and cannot be verified until the experiment is repeated on humans. Experimenting on animals is like playing roulette. (18)
The massively increased use of test animals following the thalidomide tragedy only served to dupe the public, encouraging it to keep consuming animal tested drugs. Consequently malformations are increasing. Over twenty years later, on July 19, 1983, a headline in the New York Times revealed: "Physical and Mental Disabilities in Newborns Doubled in 25 Years". More recently, the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, an organisation responsible for monitoring birth defects, reveals that every year more than a quarter million babies (1 in 12) are born with birth defects in the United States.
In West Germany's authoritative medical journal Münchner Medizinische Wochenschrift, 1969, Dr W.Chr. Müller of the nation's First Gynaecological University Clinic reported that an extensive survey by German doctors had revealed that "for 61% of all malformed children born alive and 88% of all stillborn children the intake of various drugs had to be held responsible." (19)
While drug companies continue to be allowed releasing their products on the basis of phoney, alibi animal experiments is there any wonder why humanity continues to suffer drug-induced problems of such magnitude. "
I suppose what is worse is that they found it difficult to reporoduce the abnormalities in the animals even when they knew it occurred in humans. That is the problem - animals are different to us - so we can react differently no matter how stringent the testing on animals is.
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