Chinese researchers have come under fire for using live, immature
pigs as test dummies in high-speed crash simulations that killed seven
of them immediately.
Animal rights activists around the world accused the researchers of
unnecessary cruelty, after it was reported that they had used fifteen
live pigs as crash test dummies for a study. The animals were allegedly
denied food 24 hours before the gruesome tests, then strapped in for
high-speed simulations that caused them various injuries, including
bleeding, laceration, fractures, abrasions and internal bruising. Seven
of the pigs were killed instantly, while the rest survived for another
six hours. Scientists then carried out meticulous autopsies to find out
how the pigs were injured and killed.
The 15 pigs, which were between 70 and 80 weeks old, were placed in
toddler car seats mounted on a sled and then slammed into a wall at
speeds of up to 30 mph. Researchers justified the use of live pigs by
saying that their anatomy was “similar” to that of human children. They
were reportedly intended to “mimic children of six years old” in a
series of car accidents.
The Chinese scientists insisted that their study had been approved by
an ethics committee, and that they had followed US guidelines for the
use of laboratory animals. Still, that did little to appease the
outraged animal activists who slammed the study as animal cruelty.
“Despite the existence of sophisticated animal-free models,
experimenters continue to fasten abused, frightened animals into car
seats and crash them into walls until their bodies are bloody, bruised,
and mangled,” PETA member Zachary Toliver said.
“Pigs don’t naturally sit up in car seats. Their anatomy is also very
different from that of humans, so the data obtained from these horrific
animal experiments aren’t applicable to human car-crash victims.”
“Live pigs are pulverized in these tests, leaving them with broken
bones and severe internal injuries before they’re killed and dissected,”
Toliver added. “Car companies figured out years ago that these kind of
experiments are worthless and tell us nothing about a human experience
in a car crash.”
It’s true that car companies used live animals in crash tests in the
past, but they ceased such practices long ago. For example, General
Motors announced it was stopping its live animal tests in 1993,
following a series of protests by PETA.
Modern crash test dummies are highly advanced and mimic the shape and
size of humans much better than animals, but they can also cost a few
hundreds of dollars, which might explain the more cruel choice of
researchers at the Institute for Traffic Medicine in China.
