NEW YORK: Animal rights advocates have called on the Malaysian government to halt an Indian biotech company's plans to establish a laboratory that would test on dogs and primates. The advocates argue the testing would do unnecessary harm and cause mass suffering. Malaysia currently has no regulations on animal research, which has caused a number of international companies to set up shop in the Southeast Asian country in order to test on animals without oversight. Vivo Biotech Ltd. has already signed a 450 million ringgit ($141 million) venture deal to establish a biotechnology center in the southern Malaysian state of Malacca in order to develop and manufacture medicine. According to reports, the laboratories will conduct trial tests on animals. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has called on its supporters to contact the Indian company and the Malaysian government to stop the testing from taking place. “The company would then ship beagles and monkeys to the laboratory for experiments; these animals would be condemned to lives of pain, loneliness, misery, and death with no government oversight to monitor their use,” the PETA statement began. “The animals could be burned, cut open, shocked, poisoned, socially isolated, starved, dehydrated, forcibly restrained, addicted to drugs, brain-damaged, and more,” it said. Bikya Masr attempted to contact the Indian company to get a statement on the possible testing of animals, but were denied a comment. Tougher animal testing legislation in Europe and North America has seen companies outsource to Asia, where lax regulations and cheaper costs enable corporations to avoid scrutiny. In a joint statement from Malaysia's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection and the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments, the groups lashed out over the project, demanding that Malaysia establish legislation to curtail the suffering of animals. “Malaysia currently has no legislation governing the use of animals in research,” the statement said, adding that they opposed the proposed facility for “both ethical reasons and the lack of scientific validity of using animals in testing.” The groups submitted a protest letter to the government in April, urging it to halt the project, and also requested a meeting with the local authorities to discuss the issue, SPCA official Jacinta Johnson said Monday. “Malaysia should not open the economy to businesses like this as it promotes cruelty,” she said. BM
