Category: news-feature

Humane Society International / Southeast Asia

Chau Doan AP Images for HSI

HANOI—Viet Nam’s Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has been urged to take decisive action to end the country’s trafficking and slaughter of 6 million dogs and cats for meat every year, if his recent Directive to tackle deadly rabies is to be successful.

Rabies is endemic in Viet Nam with government statistics reporting an increase in human deaths, including 82 human rabies-related deaths last year across 30 provinces and cities and 27 deaths in the first three months of 2024. Nearly 70,000 people required rabies prophylaxis treatment. Interaction with dogs through bites as well as dog meat butchery and consumption—are responsible for 99% of rabies transmissions to humans. While the Prime Minister’s Directive rightly calls on provincial authorities to increase dog vaccination rates, global animal welfare experts Humane Society International warn that such efforts will forever be undermined as long as the country’s dog and cat meat trades continue unabated.

Phuong Tham, Viet Nam director for Humane Society International, said: “The most effective way of eradicating rabies in humans is to eliminate the disease in dogs. Mass canine vaccination is therefore vital, but so too is ensuring that those vaccinated dogs remain in their localities so that herd immunity is created. It is virtually impossible to achieve that herd immunity while dog traders are stealing and trafficking millions of dogs around the country. Every single month in Viet Nam there are tens of thousands of dogs of unknown disease and vaccination status being stuffed into trucks and driven from once province to another, disrupting any potential benefit from canine vaccination and helping to spread new rabies infections. We must also stop the unregulated importation of unvaccinated, and possibly rabies infected dogs from neighbouring countries including Cambodia and Laos, which threatens provincial rabies control programs.”

Recommendations from leading human and animal health experts―including the World Health Organization, Global Alliance for Rabies Control, World Organisation for Animal Health, Pan American Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States ―stipulate that mass dog vaccination must happen in lockstep with restricting mass dog movements so that a sufficiently high level of rabies vaccination coverage remains in the stable dog population to interrupt rabies transmission.

Dr. Katherine Polak, veterinarian and HSI’s vice president of companion animals, says: “Allowing the dog and cat meat trades to continue essentially unravels all the hard work of vaccination programs and puts humans throughout the supply and demand chain in direct contact with potentially rabies-infected dogs and cats. So while we very much welcome Prime Minister Chính’s Directive, we urge him to go further and bring forward a nationwide ban on the dog and cat meat trades. The recent ban in South Korea on the dog meat industry there demonstrates that where there is political will, we can achieve great strides forward to protect people and animals.”

HSI also calls on the Ministry of Information and Communications to include anti-dog meat trade messaging in its public awareness raising outreach to ensure that the public is aware of how much such activities increase the risk of rabies transmission.

There is considerable evidence spanning decades from throughout Asia of the link between the dog meat trade and rabies transmission. Studies from Viet Nam, China and Indonesia have shown that rabies-positive dogs and carcasses often appear in markets and slaughterhouses. In one study in Viet Nam, 16.4% of samples tested positive. The movement of different strains of the rabies virus in dogs being traded for human consumption has also been tracked. There have been a number of human rabies deaths in Viet Nam directly linked to slaughtering, butchering, handling and consumption of meat from infected dogs. For example, in 2007 in Ba Vi a rabies outbreak saw 30% of human deaths linked to exposure during the slaughter and butchery of dogs, according to the Department of Animal Health.

HSI’s team in Viet Nam has been campaigning to end the dog and cat meat trades since 2020. Most recently, the charity expanded its Models for Change program in South Korea helping dog meat farmers transition out of the industry, to also include dog and cat meat slaughterhouses and restaurants in Viet Nam. The program facilitates the transition of dog and cat meat-related businesses in Dong Hai and Thai Nguyen in addition to which HSI now has a three-year agreement with the government in both provinces to advance an holistic approach to tackling rabies through a rabies vaccination program, humane dog population management, public awareness campaigns to discourage dog and cat meat consumption, and law enforcement of anti-dog and cat trafficking activities.

Dog meat facts:
  • On 14 March 2024, the Prime Minister issued Directive No. 22/CD-TTg calling on provincial authorities to establish local taskforces to implement rabies prevention and control measures. Those localities with low dog/cat rabies vaccination rates were advised to expand coverage.
  • A recent Nielsen opinion poll (Aug – Sept 2023) commissioned by HSI found that around one quarter of the population (24%) had consumed dog meat (thịt chó) in the last year, most notably in north Viet Nam (40%). A significant proportion of respondents support a ban – 64% and 68% respectively support banning dog meat consumption and trade, while 71% equally support banning cat meat consumption and trade.
  • HSI research shows that dog meat is not an expensive delicacy, costing from 150,000 – 200,000 VND ($6 – $8) per dish in Thai Nguyen.
  • While the sale and consumption of dog meat is not illegal in Viet Nam, both the unregulated trans-provincial movement of dogs and pet theft are punishable offences. Officials in several cities including Hanoi and Hoi An have pledged to end the trade, but law enforcement is rare.
  • Data from Viet Nam’s National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology shows that a significant proportion of patients become infected with the rabies virus after killing, butchering or eating dogs, as well as from bites.
  • Studies of brain samples of dogs collected from slaughterhouses in northern and southern provinces have also tested positive for the rabies virus.
  • In 2018 and 2019, the authorities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City respectively urged citizens not to consume dog meat to reduce their risk of disease transmission.

Download video and photos of HSI closing down a dog slaughterhouse.

ENDS

Humane Society International

Liver chip aav expression
Emulate

In 2021, the number of animals used for research testing in South Korea reached a record high of 4.8 million. This trend of increased animal testing in South Korea cuts against the global trend of development and adoption of innovative, non-animal approaches—the New Approach Methodologies. Despite its current reliance on animals, South Korea is actively involved in the pursuit of innovative approaches including organ-on-a-chip technology, organoids and computer-based modelling. However, wider adoption of NAMs is slow and could be accelerated through stronger harmonization of efforts involving regulatory authorities and other stakeholders.

To provide the legislative support needed to advance the use of of NAMs, HSI/Korea has been working with lawmakers, researchers, and industries to pass the PAAM Act. This bill, the Act on the Promotion of Development, Dissemination and Use of Alternative to Animal Testing Methods, was introduced in 2020 at Korea’s National Assembly by Assemblymember Ms. In-soon Nam.

As a part of ongoing efforts to raise stakeholder awareness around the PAAM Act and the need for wider adoption of NAMs, HSI/Korea’s director of government affairs, Borami Seo, spoke to Dr. Lorna Ewart, chief scientific officer at Emulate, Inc. Emulate produces human cell-based technologies that recreate human biology, Organ-Chips, also known as microphysiological systems. We asked Dr. Ewart to explain how these technologies can shift the paradigm of health research toward more human-predictive methods.

HSI: For those readers who are unfamiliar with organ-on-a-chip technology, could you briefly explain what it is?

Lorna Ewart: OOC is an in vitro model that allows cells to exist and function as if they were in the human body. We believe that if the cells are in an environment familiar to them, they will function like they would in the human body. Therefore, the data we generate from these models, can be translated into whole human body response, increasing the translational value of the data.

HSI: OOC is still a new technology. What are the challenges that you have been facing?

Lorna Ewart: At Emulate, we see five major challenges. One, scientists need to be convinced that the microfluidic platform is robust and reliable. Now that we can show this, the next challenge is sourcing good quality human cells. Cell quality is a challenge for the industry at large, but it is important because good cells make good models, and this equals good data. The third challenge is ensuring that we reduce the complexity of operation. We want to make it as easy as possible for scientists to work with our instruments to generate data. The next challenge would be answering the question, “Why bother using organ-chips when there are other methods?” We need to demonstrate the value of data generated using OOC. Lastly, there are many organizations developing OOC models. Engineers are building diverse microfluidics platforms or designing different chips. Many people in this field believe that having different types, shapes and sizes of instruments or chips is slowing the field down. Therefore, there are many discussions around the standardization of the technology which will accelerate adoption and ultimately commercialization of OOC, but standardization too soon may reduce overall innovation.

HSI: What are the prospects of OOC? How far has the commercialization process come?

Lorna Ewart: At Emulate, we work with academic researchers, scientists in the pharmaceutical industry, and government agencies, predominantly the US Food and Drug Administration. Those scientists are either using models that we have developed or we train them to build their own models. Emulate currently has validated workflows and applications for five major organs: the liver, the colon intestine, the duodenum intestine, the brain and the kidney. However, our customers have built over 70 various combinations of models and applications.

In terms of commercialization, Emulate began to be commercially active in 2018. We sell the Human Emulate System, which includes the chips, the microfluidic instrument, software and accessories needed for scientists to use OOC in their research. If researchers want, they can also buy cells from Emulate, which we call a “Biokit,” across the five organ models we are building. Or customers can buy chips that are compatible with the microfluidic instrument and build models using their own cells. We also perform fee-for-service studies where customers ask us to perform the experiment on their behalf, often involving one of their assets.

HSI: For regulatory adoption, standardization seems to be the next step. How does it work with regulators?

Lorna Ewart: The US and EU regulatory authorities welcome the fact that OOC platforms represent a credible approach to animal models. They are specifically interested to learn if these new models can provide data that closely resemble human responses and that they are reproducible and reliable.

Regulatory authorities want to understand the relevance of the data that OOC can provide. This is because they are primarily interested in safety data generated from OOC. The regulator’s role in progressing candidate drugs into clinical trials relies on demonstrating that it is safe for humans. In subsequent phases of clinical development, efficacy is of paramount importance. Models that show a high degree of human relevance will give the regulators greater confidence to progress the candidate drug into the clinic. We should also remember that regulators also want confidence in drug efficacy and OOC can also be used for this purpose and may also reduce the use of animals.

HSI: Can you give us an example where OOC is used to generate safety data and show its value?

Lorna Ewart: According to current regulatory guidelines, candidate drugs are required to be tested in two animal species, typically a rat and dog, when considering small molecules.

In November 2019, Emulate published in Science Translational Medicine, describing the simultaneous development of rat, dog, and human Liver-Chips. We demonstrated that species chips were able to reproduce species-specific toxicity, importantly highlighting where chips could highlight toxicities that were not relevant to human, therefore enabling a candidate drug to progress but equally showing that toxicity detected in human Liver-Chips should be considered very carefully before progressing to a clinical trial. Regulatory authorities are very interested in understanding how this technology can be used to generate more human-relevant data like this.

To my knowledge, there has been no declaration of any pharmaceutical companies stating the use of OOC instead of animal models for safety testing. But I believe it will happen.

HSI: How is OOC replacing animal testing?

Lorna Ewart: I see that OOC has a role in each of the categories of the 3Rs: Replacement, Reduction and Refinement.

Reduction is probably the first example where OOC will impact. Emulate recently completed the single largest Organ-Chip study to date where we evaluated the performance of the human Liver-Chip across 27 small molecules that had been in the clinic. Liver-Chip was able to detect 9 out of 10 drugs that resulted in clinical hepatotoxicity. As such, we propose that scientists should adopt this model and use it before dose range finding studies in animals. By doing this, scientists can identify hepatoxic drug candidates earlier in their screening cascades. They would therefore not need to perform the in vivo study for this candidate, thus reducing the number of animals used. Ultimately, as more organ chip models show a high predictive value for clinical outcome, conversations about the steps towards replacement of animals can begin.

Refinement may be a little harder to demonstrate but it is possible to use OOC to understand the exposure ranges and therefore avoid exposing animals to unnecessarily high doses of the candidate drug.

HSI: Do you see researchers moving away from animal testing? What’s your perspective on this?

Lorna Ewart: I sense that there is growing momentum in the field of animal model alternatives. I believe we are in very exciting times, perhaps at the tip of the iceberg with growing voices from younger scientific generations questioning the validity of animal testing, especially as technology continues to advance.

Governments can also play a major role. Korea’s PAAM Act will help accelerate the acceptance and use of NAMs. Discussions in the European Union are also pushing scientists to think differently. It’s not going to happen just through one organization, one scientist alone. It’s partnership work.

HSI: Regarding the role of government, do you have any suggestions how Korean government can encourage the OOC field and move towards non-animal approaches?

Lorna Ewart: Firstly, the technology has huge potential, but the field needs further investment to continue to improve it and realize its full value. If the Korean government can consider targeted investment towards non-animal alternatives such as human relevant models, it would drive the field forward.

Additionally, government can also proactively encourage the use of new technologies especially when it comes to developing pharmaceutical products. This can be done by positively choosing to use alternatives rather than accepting the traditional norm of animal testing.

HSI: Regarding Korea’s PAAM Act, how do you think it will contribute to advancing science communities?

Lorna Ewart: Researchers will be able to use the best tools available to them, instead of being limited by animal models, which are known to have translational issues. By reducing our global reliance on non-human testing methods and instead leveraging human biology for human drug development, we anticipate the combination of human biology and technology to usher in a new era in human health.

Reference in this article to any specific brand, trade, firm or corporation name is for the information of the public only, and does not constitute or imply endorsement by Humane Society International or its affiliates of any specific company or its products or services, and should not be construed as or relied upon, under any circumstances, by implication or otherwise, as investment advice. The views and opinions expressed in the article do not necessarily state or accurately reflect those of Humane Society International or its affiliates.

HSI/Europe welcomes Italian Exhibition Group’s decision todiscontinue HIT Show for its incompatibility with environmental values

Humane Society International / Europe

Trophy hunting “Not In My World” action in Rome, Italy, on October 20th, 2021.

VICENZA, Italy —Martina Pluda, director for Italy at Humane Society International/Europe, states the following regarding the announcement by IEG Italian Exhibition Group SpA to discontinue HIT Show, the hunting fair:

“I welcome the decision by IEG Italian Exhibition Group SpA to no longer organize HIT Show, Italy’s largest hunting fair that had  40,000 visitors and hundreds of international exhibitors per year. According to research by Humane Society International/Europe, many outfitters offered trophy hunting trips targeting protected species. In their statement, the company that runs the Vicenza exhibit hall stressed the incompatibility of this event with environmental values and its own mission. Public opinion is consistent with that view. In fact, according to an HSI/Europe poll, 86% of Italians surveyed oppose trophy hunting of all wild animals.

Trophy hunters from the European Union kill thousands of wild animals worldwide, including endangered or threatened species, with Italy being a major trophy destination. In addition to the cruelty and loss of animals who could contribute to a diverse gene pool while the world is facing a biodiversity crisis, it is irresponsible to allow wealthy elites to shoot endangered species for pure pleasure and to promote this practice as a recreational activity. Hunting shows are an important yet disgraceful showcase for outfitters who offer the opportunity to hunt lions, elephants, hippos and many other species for several thousand euros on macabre price lists. The divestment by IEG of the HIT Show is a strong blow to the industry and a clear signal.

Shooting, stuffing, packing and receiving dead animals and their body parts and displaying them in their homes motivates these hunters. An import ban on trophies in more EU countries would effectively help stop the killing of these animals. Already since the last legislature, HSI/Europe’s #NotInMyWorld campaign has been calling for Italy to introduce a ban on the import, export and re-export of hunting trophies obtained from internationally protected species. With the submission of a bill on this issue we have taken the first step. I trust that the next government will want to work to achieve this goal together with us and the Italian people, once and for all.”

Facts:

  • Between 2014 and 2020, Italy imported 437 hunting trophies from internationally protected species such as hippos, elephants, lions, leopards, cheetahs, brown bears and polar bears.
  • Notably, Italy was one of five countries to have imported at least one critically endangered black rhino trophy.
  • According to a survey commissioned by HSI/Europe to Savanta ComRes, 86% of Italians surveyed oppose trophy hunting of all wild animals, 88% agree that Italians should not be allowed to import hunting trophies from other countries, and 74% support a total ban on the export and import of dead animal trophies to and from Italy.
  • A petition launched by HSI/Europe in Italy has already collected more than 45,000 signatures.

ENDS

Media contact: Martina Pluda, HSI in Italy’s country director: mpluda@hsi.org; 3714120885

 

Humane Society International

guinea pig being injected
Guinea pigs, rabbits, mice, birds and other animals were used in testing by the thousands. 

Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA) has introduced a new regulation making it possible for companies to forego two obsolete and scientifically unnecessary animal tests for quality control of veterinary biological products such as vaccines. The move has been welcomed by Humane Society International, which has been working in Brazil and across the globe with regulatory authorities and industry stakeholders to eliminate and replace obsolete animal testing from regulations for both human and veterinary biological products, promoting a global regulatory alignment in the way non-animal tests are accepted and implemented.

The animal tests impacted by the new Brazilian regulation – the Target and Laboratory Animal Batch Safety Tests – were developed nearly a century ago, consumed vast numbers of mice, guinea pigs, birds and larger animals, and are now widely regarded as unnecessary for assuring the safety of veterinary biologicals. Following a comprehensive scientific review, Brazil has decided to join the United States, Europe, Japan and other major economies in allowing companies to waive these tests.

Antoniana Ottoni, federal affairs specialist for Humane Society International in Brazil, said, “This welcome regulatory reform is a true win-win-win – sparing animals needless suffering and death, reducing costs and bureaucracy for companies and authorities, while ensuring a high standard of quality and safety for veterinary medicines in Brazil. We are grateful to colleagues in our Agriculture Ministry for their collaboration and willingness to break from a century old tradition in favour of alignment with the growing international scientific and regulatory consensus.”

Marcos Vinícius Santana Leandro, auditor and General Coordinator of Veterinary Products in MAPA’s Department of Animal Health said, “The Ministry of Agriculture, Supply and Livestock took the decision to install an official process for waiving animal tests for quality control for veterinary products, aware that the safety of these products can be achieved by improving the manufacturing process, which have come a long way over the past few decades, introducing strict controls over starting materials and the development of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), quality assurance and control, and pharmacovigilance systems. These advances have contributed to the creation of a safe environment in which waiving these tests has become a viable and safe possibility. In addition, it will enable the regulatory harmonization necessary to reduce bureaucracy in the registration of health veterinary products of extreme relevance to animal health and the development in our country.”

The new MAPA regulation is available here.

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