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In spite of this overwhelming evidence that for the prediction of the human lethal dose the LD50 Test is not useful many countries stipulate expansion of the LD50 procedure. Experiments will not only take the form of single and repeated doses of the test substances onto several animal species - but also be carried out on pregnant females and new born animals - in order to check embryonic and postnatal development.

In a society that holds sacred the concepts and ideals of the family how is it possible that the sentiment applies to human family life only, and that families of non-humans are regarded merely as worthless and disposable objects - not even worthy of our compassion... we matter but they don't?

And now for the real reason for the Lethal Dose 50 poisonings:

The chemical industry in the USA has an annual turnover of $450 billion.

The pharmaceutical industry made $75,000,000 in 1980 and will make sales of two hundred and seventy thousand million dollars by the year 2000 and hundreds of millions of animals will be poisoned to death to help make their profits.

In this age of modern technology which has found it possible to put men on the moon one million animals are thus poisoned to death in the USA each year and almost 500,000 in that nation of animal lovers Great Britain. Though no figures are available in New Zealand the Minister of Agriculture admits that the LD50 test takes place here. Mr McIntyre claims that the LD50 test in animals "is not necessarily cruel"... one wonders if Mr McIntyre would hold the same opinion if he were on the receiving end... in other words how would he like to be poisoned to death?

Both the Prime Minister and ex-vivisector Dr Ian Shearer say that Lethal Dose 50 testing is essential and tell us that "every effort is made to avoid unnecessary pain and suffering to the test animals"

The LD50 licence to torture is an international bureaucratic requirement. It is used in New Zealand on chemicals, and other substances which have not been previously tested overseas.

Apart from the cruelty - and in spite of the assurances of our politicians that this ugly and brutal procedure is "essential" let us examine the evidence that the LD50 Test is in fact a most unreliable and dangerous method of assessing the toxicity of a substance.

One famous chemical-producing company recently performed the LD50 test on five chemicals in sixtyfive different laboratories - all with identical conditions and identical animals and all producing different results.

Why?

The LD50 Test is inconsistent because in many instances the material under test is not poisonous and the animals die from ruptured stomachs and intestines owing to the force and weight of the test substance.