World Day for Laboratory Animals and Youth Solidarity Day: What else is celebrated on April 24

Today, April 24, you can join the World Day for Laboratory Animals and the International Youth Solidarity Day, reports UNN. 

World Day for Laboratory Animals

Established in 1979, World Day for Laboratory Animals and the associated Week for Laboratory Animals have become a catalyst for the movement to end animal suffering in laboratories around the world and replace them with advanced scientific methods that do not involve animals. The suffering of millions of animals around the world is commemorated on all continents.

Although advanced methods are steadily replacing animal research, outdated laws require animal testing before a product can be released to the market. Every year, millions of animals suffer and die in experiments that cannot be trusted.

Today, this event is marked by demonstrations and protests by groups opposed to the use of animals in research. In April 2010, protesters marched through central London calling for an end to the use of animals in research. A similar march took place in Birmingham in 2012. and Nottingham in 2014.

Animals of different species are used for experiments. Most often, rats, mice, primates, dogs, cats, rabbits, and frogs are used as experimental subjects. Flies, worms, and other insects are also used. Most of these animals are specifically bred for experiments or transferred from animal shelters, and some wild species are caught for these purposes from natural environments.

Animal species differ from each other in several ways. For example:

• monkeys are often used in brain experiments because of their obvious similarity to humans, but they still differ from us in many ways, including the structure of the nervous system, sensory organs, and, as data show, differences in how they function;
• blood clotting mechanisms in dogs differ from those in humans;
• guinea pigs can only breathe through their noses;
• rats, mice and rabbits cannot vomit.

Species differences mean that animals used in research may give different results than humans:

• aspirin causes birth defects in monkeys, but is widely used by pregnant women without the same effect;
• the heart drug Eroldine has been thoroughly studied in animals and has satisfied regulators. None of the animal tests warned of serious side effects in humans, such as blindness, tumors, stomach problems, and joint pain.

All monkeys were caught in the US two months after they escaped from a research center25.01.25, 10:19 • 30977 views

International Youth Solidarity Day

In particular, on this day, April 24, the International Youth Solidarity Day is celebrated annually by the decision of the World Federation of Democratic Youth. The holiday was first celebrated in 1957.

This memorial day serves as another reason to draw the attention of state authorities, society and the media to the problems of youth.

Uniting the efforts of youth, public organizations, broad sections of the population, people who care about the future of their children and grandchildren, allows us to strengthen public control over the observance of youth rights, promotes increased organization and creative activity of youth in the implementation of economic, social, scientific, technical and moral problems of society, strengthening the continuity of generations, legality and law and order.

The youth of the planet has received several holidays - International Youth Day is celebrated on August 12, World Youth Day - November 10, and the Ukrainian Youth Day is celebrated on June 24.

International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace

This day aims to reaffirm the UN Charter and its principles of resolving disputes between countries by peaceful means. The day recognizes the use of multilateral decision-making and diplomacy to achieve peaceful resolution of conflicts between nations.

This day was established on December 12, 2018 by a resolution and was first celebrated on April 24, 2019.

However, as the war that Russia launched against Ukraine has demonstrated, the UN Charter, international law and Resolutions have proved to be ineffective and unable to influence aggressors.

In 2024, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets stated that the UN mission had never agreed to review Ukrainian materials regarding the explosion in the Olenivka colony in Donetsk region on the night of July 28-29, 2022. Ukraine has repeatedly called on the UN to fulfill its mandate and investigate the mass murder in Olenivka.

Zelenskyy calls for increased pressure on russia for faster diplomacy27.03.25, 06:09 • 26982 views

Religious holidays

On April 24, believers honor the Holy Martyr Antipas, who was a disciple of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian. In addition, during his lifetime, he managed to be the bishop of the Church of Pergamum during the reign of Emperor Nero.

At that time, the emperor considered all who did not sacrifice to idols to be heretics and ordered them to be executed or exiled. However, St. Antipas achieved that the inhabitants of Pergamum evaded sacrifices to idols. Pagan priests reproached the bishop for turning the people away from worshiping their native gods and demanded that he stop preaching about Christ and offer sacrifice to idols.