Ricerca Telethon

In France, a shocking video was recently shot in the Alfort National Veterinary School. There, generations of dogs have been bred to have painful and debilitating diseases, all in the name of "research."

The studies are funded by AFM-Téléthon with the goal of finding a cure for muscular dystrophy in humans. Golden retrievers, beagles, and other breeds are locked in cages, and, as the disease progresses, struggle to eat, walk, and breathe. Most are completely crippled within six months, and nearly half die before they are a year old. Those that do survive suffer from heart conditions. 

After decades of testing on generations of debilitated and suffering dogs, there is still no cure or treatment to reverse the course of this terrible disease in humans. So children afflicted with DMD continue to suffer. Analysis of muscular dystrophy studies using dogs has shown that there are serious pitfalls when trying to apply those results to humans. In fact, there are even studies that have produced the opposite results in humans. There are better ways to help patients with MD.

Cutting-edge techniques, such as utilizing skin cells from DMD patients to develop disease-specific cures, developing ways to grow healthy human muscle cells that could be transplanted into patients with MD, and creating human-relevant drug-screening platforms, have led to the development of more promising therapies.

Sadly, even employees of the veterinary school know how wrong the practice is. One can be heard saying, "I wouldn't like to be in the beagle's place. The suffering is real." Later, an administrator admits that they would lose funding if the public knew what they were doing. 

The experiments at Alfort National Veterinary School are funded by the French charity AFM-Téléthon. However, a laboratory official admits that the laboratory could lose that funding if the public were to see the condition of the dogs.

“There’s no question that if we showed them our myopathic dogs, they would risk losing a lot of money.”

 As well they should.

 The video was turned over to PETA, and representatives are urging Téléthon to seek other methods of testing. To sign their petition, click here.