We helped to expose shocking cruelty in 2021
Prime Video España has today given worldwide release to ‘Infiltrada en el Búnker’ (Undercover Inside the Bunker), a documentary on the unlawful abuse and widespread animal suffering exposed at the Vivotecnia contract-testing laboratory in Madrid, Spain.
We shared the graphic footage, captured undercover by an animal technician operating under the pseudonym Carlota Saorsa, along with a report on the findings, in April 2021.
The main findings of the investigation were:
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Deliberate acts of gratuitous cruelty towards animals, including smacking, shaking and being swung by their tails.
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Taunting, mocking and verbally abusing animals who were already stressed and suffering, including those who were being killed or who were dying.
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Killing animals in the presence of others of their kind.
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Hostile lack of respect and compassion towards the animals. In one instance, a technician draws a face on the genitals of a terrified monkey who is pinned to the table as blood is taken.
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Appalling techniques and bad practice which inflicted even greater suffering.
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Poor handling and restraint of animals.
All of this is in addition to the suffering intrinsic to testing on animals, including that which can be caused by poisoning, as well as the procedures used and the confined and unnatural conditions in which the animals are kept.
We believe that Vivotecnia was systematically in breach of European law governing the use of animals in scientific procedures and also of Spanish law. These breaches included:
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Dogs often separated from their cage mates in badly maintained, barren housing with no toys or bedding, no regular exercise programmes.
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Pigs housed in tiers in a dark room on a hard, slatted floor with no resting areas, no bedding and no enrichment.
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Inappropriate handling techniques used for picking up and restraining animals, for example animals picked up by the scruff of the neck, ears and tail.
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Animals routinely suffering more than necessary as a result of the sub-standard practices used in procedures such as oral gavage (force-feeding substances to animals) and blood collection.
A huge public outcry ensued, with extensive media coverage in Spain and around the world. Vivotecnia’s licence to operate was initially suspended but later restored, a move which we believe to be wrong. In November 2021, it was reported that Spain’s Ministry of Science and National Research Council had, in fact, extended two contracts with the facility.
Toxicity testing involves dosing animals to see how much of a chemical or drug it takes to cause serious harm, in an attempt to determine what a ‘safe’ dose or level of exposure for humans might be. Groups of animals may be injected with, force-fed, rubbed-with, or made to inhale increasing amounts of a substance to measure the toxic effects which can be severe and include vomiting, internal bleeding, respiratory distress, birth defects, fever, weight loss, lethargy, skin problems, organ failure and even death. No anaesthetics or pain relief are provided.
Because each species of animal can react differently to the same substance, there can be no certainty that these tests are reliable for ensuring safe and effective drugs, and safe use of chemicals, for humans. We, along with many others, believe that humane, reliable non-animal methods should replace all tests on animals.
Vivotecnia is a contract research laboratory which provides preclinical product development services to pharmaceutical and biotech companies and conducts product safety studies on behalf of cosmetic, chemical and agrochemical industries. The animal studies offered include pharmacokinetic and toxicokinetic studies, acute and repeated dose studies in rabbits, rats, mice, dogs, pigs and monkeys, carcinogenicity studies and reproductive toxicity studies. The facility has in the past received funding from the Government of Spain.
Dr Emma Grange, our Director of Science and Regulatory Affairs, said: “The documentary graphically shows an even darker side of regulatory testing on animals. Carlota’s 15-month time undercover captured a horrendous spectacle of suffering and cruelty in the way animals were housed, handled and abused during toxicity tests, as well as countless breaches of Spanish and EU legislation. Our Vivotecnia investigation followed on from a similar joint investigation by ourselves and SOKO Tierschutz, which led to the closure of the Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology (LPT) in Mienenbüttel, Germany. It is unthinkable that this should still be happening in Europe in the twenty-first century. We hope that a renewed interest in this investigation helps to hasten long-overdue work to phase-out animal testing in Europe and beyond. The European Union is now preparing a roadmap for the transition away from testing chemicals, including medicines, on animals, and two major U.S. government departments have recently signalled a desire to move away from animal tests on scientific grounds – this work must start in earnest without delay.”
Criminal proceedings against individuals are pending in Spain.
We were not involved in the making of the documentary ‘Infiltrada en el Búnker’.