NATIONAL Pet Week begins on Saturday, a time when the British public are reminded to look after their animals in a responsible way.

People with dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, etc., will be encouraged to think about their welfare and how to care for them. Unfortunately, National Pet Week doesn't apply for the thousands of animals used every year for experiments in British laboratories.

According to the latest available statistics, more than 22,000 dogs were used in EU experiments in 1999, of which a massive 26 per cent were conducted in the UK. Nearly 300,000 guinea pigs and 230,000 rabbits were also used throughout the EU in the same year.

Although these poor creatures suffer physical pain and psychological torment, they are not covered by the Protection of Animals Act 1911 and the UK legislation covering animal experiments -- the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 -- permits the infliction of a catalogue of unspeakable suffering in the lab.

Pet owners who deliberately abuse their animals can quite rightly expect to be prosecuted, perhaps fined, imprisoned and even banned from owning an animal. By contrast, behind the closed doors of the laboratory, researchers are given licences by the Government to linflict suffering.

Animals can be legally poisoned, burned, mutilated, electrocuted, brain-damaged, paralysed, infected with disease, genetically manipulated, surgically altered, and killed.

This sets up an indefensible legal anomaly. What is termed as animal abuse in the domestic setting is sanitised as an "animal procedure" in the laboratory.

The British public loves to watch an ever-growing number of animal-related TV programmes, such as Animal Hospital, Pet Rescue and Vets in Practice. If we care enough about the distress of a single animal to tune into the same show each week to chart its progress, how can we turn our back on the immense suffering of literally millions of laboratory animals?

During National Pet Week this year, spare a thought for laboratory animals and find out how you can help them by contacting the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) on 020 7700 4888 or email info@buav.org

Wendy Higgins,

Campaigns Director, BUAV

16a, Crane Grove

London N7 8NN