Rare insight into animal testing lab: ‘It has to happen, so I’m doing it’

Because it is so sensitive and there are fanatical opponents, the hatches at animal testing laboratory Charles River in Den Bosch are normally closed. But now that the company wants to expand, politicians, neighbors and a few journalists are allowed to take a look inside. A glimpse into a hidden world.

The doors are then open only once, which does not mean that everything is allowed. In fact, photos and film recordings are now strictly prohibited. This is a firm requirement of the company’s customers, explains director Erik Baltussen: “Because we must treat their inventions confidentially. But we do think it is a shame that we cannot provide more openness as a result.”

We do get a tour of the laboratory for large animals: dogs, cats and pigs. In addition, there are labs for rabbits and rats and mice.

Employee Merel talks enthusiastically about her work in the animal testing laboratory. She has worked for Charles River for nine years. She is a zookeeper and trainer ‘with a passion for animals’, she says. Merel is also not allowed in the picture. And preferably only with first name, to avoid hassle with overly fanatical animal activists.

“They’re friends to me.”

First of all, she shows the space for the cats: about 24 square meters in size, with pens on the left and right. Ten males and ten females live there, with names like Wolfje, Elena and Manfred. “The caretakers give them names, they are friends to me,” says Merel.

They roam freely in space. Before we can enter, Merel puts them in their pens.

They are laboratory animals to develop medicines for cats. The cats that survive are adopted. Merel also has one herself: “His name was Peter, but I called him Finn. The first weeks were strange for him, because he was not used to, for example, a window or the sound of the vacuum cleaner.”

There are 17 such rooms in the lab, each containing about 16 animals. Merel shows the residence of the mini pigs. Because they are social animals, they are always in a cage with several. The pigs are mainly used for testing medicinal ointments, because the pig skin is similar to that of humans. It is mainly tested for side effects. Merel: “And if an animal becomes ill, the research stops.”

Then on to the dogs’ enclosure. Sixteen beagles start jumping enthusiastically when we enter. The dogs also have names, Merel says: “That’s Lola.”

Some animals ‘end terminally’.

Many dogs are put up for adoption through a foundation after their stay in the lab. But some ‘end up terminally’, as it’s called: they get an injection. You get used to it, says Merel. “I form a bond with the animals and then it is sometimes difficult. You might compare it to a pig farmer. He has a different bond with his pigs than with his dog.”

Working with laboratory animals simply has to happen, says Merel: “It is work that has to be done and then I prefer to be the one who does it.”

Charles River is a global company, with 100 locations and 20,000 employees. 635 people work in Den Bosch. The company has contributed in one way or another to 80 percent of the drugs that come onto the market worldwide.

The location in Den Bosch is growing. The laboratory for alternative tests is expanding considerably. No animal testing is done there, they test for example ointment on human skin, which is made available through hospitals.

But the number of animal experiments is also still growing. Charles River is currently licensed to conduct 90,000 animal experiments per year. But for the next five years a higher number is demanded, as the demand for safety research is increasing, especially for experiments on rats and rabbits.

So there are expansion plans. The current enclosure for mice and rats dates from 1983, the year the company started in Den Bosch. “That building is finished,” explains director Erik Baltussen. Charles River wants to build a new building on the adjacent lawn, for which a building permit has been applied for. Balussen hopes that the new building will be ready by the end of next summer.

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