World Day for Laboratory Animals
The World Day for Laboratory Animals is celebrated every 24th of April each year. This event is also called the World Lab Animal Day. The week that it is celebrated in is called the World Week for Animals in Laboratories. This day is described as the day for commemorating animals in laboratories. It campaigns for ending the suffering of animals in laboratories and replacing experiments with advanced scientific non-animal techniques instead.
About the World Day for Laboratory Animals
During the World Day for Laboratory Animals, people conduct various activities that let them achieve the objectives of this day. For one, people campaign for ending the cruelty against animals and stopping animal testing in laboratories altogether. They aim to raise awareness by doing demonstrations and group discussions. People also shout out on social media how they are celebrating this important day.
History
The World Day for Laboratory Animals was founded by the British National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) in 1979. The date of April 24 was chosen in order to commemorate Hugh Dowding, former NAVS president, aristocrat, and fighter pilot. The first celebration was marked by protests and demonstrations that opposed animal research in various North American and European societies.
Dates
As mentioned earlier, the World Day for Laboratory Animals is celebrated every 24th of April each year. This means that the dates of celebration for this event are as follows:
- Friday, April 24,
- Saturday, April 24,
- Sunday, April 24, 2022
- Monday, April 24, 2023
- Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Why Celebrate
The main reason why you should go join in celebrating this day is that this is the best time for you to learn more about animal testing in laboratories and to campaign against it. Though difficult, if you find out what these animals go through, you will really feel pitiful for them. Them too deserve to live a good life just like we humans do.
Celebration Ideas and Activities
The following are the best things to do to make your celebration of the World Day for Laboratory Animals as best as it can be:
Learn More About Animal Cruelty
Perhaps you are one of those people who does not know much about animal cruelty and what exactly this event is fighting for. If that’s the case, take this day as your opportunity to learn all the essential things about it. This is the best time to be enlightened about this very concerning problem that needs to be addressed immediately.
Raise Awareness About Animal Cruelty
One you have enough knowledge about animal cruelty, it is up to you to spread that knowledge to other people so that them too will know about the plight of laboratory animals. Let them know the tests faced by animals when they undergo testing. Tell them also that there are advanced non-animal alternatives that are even more reliable and effective in order to find out what laboratories want to see.
Celebrate on Social Media
You can also take your celebration of this day on social media. You can, for instance, use the hashtag #WorldDayForLaboratoryAnimals to let your friends and followers know that you are also participating in the celebration of this important day.
World Day for Laboratory Animals Quotes
- “No more invasive biomedical testing should be performed on sentient and complex animals like primates, dogs and cats. Even rats have been proved highly intelligent and capable of feeling fear and pain. Animals can’t talk for themselves so we need to be their voices and bring their plight out into the daylight.” – Jane Goodall
- “Testing cosmetics on animals is a cruel, outdated and unnecessary practice. Our nation’s largest trading partner — the European Union — has banned the sale of animal-tested cosmetics and proven it is possible to produce safe cosmetics without harming animals.” – Bob Barker
- “Science and research do not compel us to tolerate…the careless and callous handling of animals in some of our laboratories.” – Lyndon Johnson
- “Why (test cosmetics) on some poor animal who hasn’t done anything wrong?” – Ellen DeGeneres
- “The federal government does not provide funding for some medical procedures because a significant number of people object to them. Then why does the federal government provide funding for laboratory experiments involving animals?” – Maria Palondi
- “Ask the experimenters why they experiment on animals, and the answer is, ‘Because the animals are like us.’ Ask the experimenters why it is morally okay to experiment on animals, and the answer is, ‘Because the animals are not like us.’” – Charles Magel
- “I wish that medical researchers who experiment on animals would experiment on humans to try to find a cure for their insensitivity to the suffering of animals.” – Rhonda Stagg
- “The price is never right on products tested on animals.” – Bob Barker