Pay per view: AG STG pays viewers

"Would you like to watch a 5-minute movie and earn a franc?" asked activists on Grabenplatz in Winterthur on Saturday. Many passers-by stopped in amazement at this unusual offer and sat curiously in front of the screens. With the "Pay per View" campaign, the AG STG (Action Group of Swiss Opponents of Animal Experiments) provided information about animal experiments and also about animal-free research methods.

The film "Nonsense Animal Testing" by Doctors Against Animal Testing was shown at three mobile film stations in Winterthur city center. The six-minute film uses animated images and examples to explain clearly why the results are useless and often even dangerous for use on humans. The majority of the Swiss population knows very little about animal testing, as those responsible are happy to conceal the countless experiments, according to a statement from the AG STG, which has set itself the task of educating consumers.

"The widespread belief that animal experiments are necessary for our safety only lives on because the general public is not informed about the cruelty and nonsensical nature of animal experiments", complains Valentina Rossel, media spokesperson for the AG STG, and goes on to criticize: "The cruelty, the lack of transferability and the horrendous costs of animal experiments are deliberately concealed by those responsible, as otherwise they would lose their research funding". The amounts spent on animal experiments at universities amount to several hundred million Swiss francs every year. The federal government invests over 80 million in animal experiments through the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) alone. The Action Group of Swiss Opponents of Animal Experiments has long been calling for the consistent promotion and use of animal-free research methods. In December, the AG STG attracted attention with a campaign in which angels distributed poisoned Christmas cookies in Winterthur's old town (Werbewoche.ch reported).