By: Dabria Yiong | Edited by: Lisa Foo

Halloween is coming and it is the best time to watch our favourite horror movies! This is the best time to add another movie to The Animal Welfare Station's "Take-One" segment where we uncover different animal welfare concerns in movies (or TV shows). Today, we would like to look into 28 Days Later, a 2002 post-apocalyptic movie starring the famed Cillian Murphy. Catch it on Disney+ if you have not!

Not to be confused with 28 Days (a little nod to Pam Beesly from The Office), 28 Days Later is an R-rated horror movie set in post-apocalyptic Britain where a highly contagious rage virus leaves four survivors stranded to fight for their lives. Does this sound awfully similar to the COVID-19 world we are living in? Well, there are some similarities. First, like COVID-19, the virus in the movie first manifested in animals. In fact, should you belong to the other school of thought which  hypothesized that COVID-19 started from a lab, you may be heartened (or not) to know that the virus in 28 Days Later was accidentally leaked from a lab too.

With that being said, the article today will focus on the actual horrors of lab testing. But first, enjoy this opening scene from 28 Days Later (WARNING! This scene contains gore): 

The first thought you may have after watching the scene may be thinking "Those monkeys were nasty!". Well, they might have been. However, do not forget that they were infected by the virus. So, should animals be blamed for failed lab tests? 

Animals have been widely used in research. Ranging from the pharmaceutical to the beauty industry, animal testing has been regarded as a safety seal that protects public health and safety. However, given that there have been disparities between the effectiveness of medicine and vaccines on animals and humans, why should animal testing continue? 

Certain markets, such as the beauty industry in China, has made animal testing mandatory. While China has removed this clause for 'general' cosmetics such as shampoo and make-up, mandatory drug testing on animals is still required in many countries. A study on public perceptions on animal testing concluded that many believe that such tests should be conducted for medical research, although they are opposed to animal testing in general.

Animals commonly used in animal testing include (but are not limited to) rats, guinea pigs, fish, dogs, and monkeys. Depending on the nature of the test, specific breeds of each animal are used. For instance, Beagles are widely used in drug testing due to their inherently docile nature. Beagles are extensively exploited due to their trusting characteristics and obedience to human command. However, they are in no way rewarded for being a good dog as they are injected with pesticides and household products such as dishwashing solution, or forced to undergo transplants to test the compatibility of foreign bodies. These are merely a few examples of the brutality that occurs in labs, and would it surprise you to know that despite successful experimentations, drugs fail clinical trials more than 92% of the time? On a lighter note, read more about Hammy the Beagle, a rescued "lab dog" here or watch this Dodo video on how Echo, an ex-"lab dog" got adopted.

Given that animal testing is closely related to public health, and hits awfully close to the hearts of animal lovers and activists, can there ever be a balance? There have been alternatives to animal testing! Cell cultures have been widely used by researchers and can be grown in laboratories. Other alternatives include human tissue and human volunteers! You may even be heartened to know that such experiments and testing have been proven more effective than animals due to the biological resemblance of these substitutes to humans. A successful example would be how cell-based tests have a 100% accuracy at detecting toxic chemicals vis-à-vis pregnant rats that clinch a subpar 60%.

To round up this article, animal testing is an extremely complicated matter that involves numerous stakeholders. While it will take years before animal testing can be fully eliminated, the effort of every individual in combatting this horror would be much appreciated by the many innocent lives who are force fed toxins in labs. So, opt for Vegan soaps, learn more about lab testing, donate to foundations, the list goes on!

Tying this back to 28 Days Later, while animal testing has not led to a major virus oubtreak, you might want to learn more about Monkey B Virus, a rare primate virus that killed a Chinese Veterinarian a few months back.  

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