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VW CEO says monkey tests were 'unethical and repulsive'!

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The diesel emissions experiments funded by VW, BMW and Daimler have been widely condemned.

Volkswagen chief executive Matthias Mueller has branded tests where monkeys were exposed to diesel fumes as 'unethical and repulsive', and has offered an apology on behalf of those involved with the study.

The German car maker, which is still embroiled in the never-ending Dieselgate emissions scandal, reportedly commissioned a test – along with fellow German manufacturers Daimler and BMW – that was run by the European Research Group on Environment and Health in the Transport Sector (EUGT).

The experiments, which began in 2014 and were carried out by the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute in New Mexico, kept monkeys in airtight chambers and forced them to inhale fumes from a diesel-engined Beetle.

The reasoning for the study was to defend the safety of diesel cars following claims that their fumes were carcinogenic. Now Mueller has spoken out against the tests that his company played a part in, denouncing them entirely.

'The methods used by EUGT in the United States were wrong, they were unethical and repulsive,' he said on Monday. 'I am sorry that Volkswagen was involved in the matter as one of the sponsors of EUGT.' He added that Volkswagen were now carrying out their own investigation into the study and would take appropriate action based on the study's findings if necessary.

The study, which concluded last year, also involved BMW and Mercedes owner Daimler. Daimler initially defended the methodology behind the tests, but later backtracked, stating: 'We distance ourselves from the LRRI study done under EUGT. Daimler does not tolerate or support unethical treatment of animals'.
 
An internal board has demanded an immediate investigation.

Volkswagen's managing board has demanded an enquiry how controversial emissions tests on monkeys were able to take place between 2014 and 2017.

The tests, which were carried out by the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute in New Mexico, saw monkeys kept in airtight chambers and forced to inhale fumes from a diesel-engined Beetle to try and find evidence to defend the quality of diesel fumes and refute a ruling by the WHO that the fumes are carcinogenic. The tests were commissioned by the European Research Group on Environment and Health in the Transport Sector (EUGT).

'I will do everything possible to ensure that this matter is investigated in detail,' said Volkswagen supervisory board chairman Hans Dieter Pà¶tsch. 'Whoever is responsible for this must of course be held accountable.'

The EUGT was funded by Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes owner Daimler, and all three have since denounced the tests – the EUGT was already disbanded in 2017 over controversy about its methods – and Volkswagen has even gone so far as to publically declare that it will never test with animals again.

'We want to absolutely rule out testing on animals for the future so that this doesn't happen again,' Thomas Steg, VW's chief lobbyist, told German daily Bild. Steg has since been suspended from his role pending an investigation – he was in charge of the relationship with EUGT and helped come up with the idea for the experiment.

Mercedes and BMW make personnel changes after monkey scandal
Volkswagen has admitted that other members of staff – including some in its legal department, at the VW brand's technical development division and at Volkswagen America – were aware of the tests at the time, but the company has so far refused to name them, and has claimed that the controversial tests were never discussed at board level.

The German government has even stepped in to condemn the tests. 'These tests on monkeys or even people are in no ethical way justifiable and raise many critical questions about those who are behind the tests,' a government spokesman told a news conference in Berlin.
 
Hmmmm, we carried out the tests, got the information, now we wish to distance ourselves from this disgusting practice and have forced the closure of the company that carried out the tests that we requested................

Pesky Germans AGAIN eh :nooo:
 
Obscene and shameful.......beyond words.
 

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