This document is reproduced for reference purposes only, it contains false and unsubstantiated claims designed to mislead the public.
Medical researchers are committed to reducing or replacing the use of animals.
But the functions of the human body are so complex that some animal research will probably always be needed. Blindness cannot be studied in bacteria, nor high blood pressure in tissue cultures. The LD50 test is now prohibited by law in some Australian states and is only rarely practised in New Zealand. But before many medicines and farm chemicals can be registered for use here, the manufacturer must by law prove they are safe to use. This means in practice that they must provide toxicity information based on LD50 or similar tests carried out overseas.