Six labradors at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden are set to be euthanized at the end of a medical trial which is currently using them to test the efficacy of dental implants.

According to The Local, the study is being conducted at the university's laboratory for experimental medicine and is aiming to investigate how the implants might cause inflammation and the degradation of bones, and how well the dental implant integrates into human tissue.

As part of the study, each of the six two-year-old labradors — named Venus, Milia, Mimosa, Luna, Lotus, and Zuri — have had more than a third of their teeth extracted and replaced with implants. At the end of the tests in late February, they will be killed so testing, which cannot be performed on living animals, can be also be carried out on their tissue and blood.

The Djurrättsalliansen (Animal Rights Alliance) is trying to stop the university from killing the labradors at the end of the experiment and wants them to be resettled and rehabilitated into loving homes, with a petition for the same already signed by more than 84,000 people.

Speaking about their efforts, Djurrättsalliansen spokesman Daniel Rolke said, "In one week, we managed to collect 84,232 signatures on the petition and lots of people are writing to [the university]. Kids have sent in pictures with dogs they drew pleading for the dogs' lives. Hundreds of people have offered to take the dogs in and rehome them and give them a loving home."

In response to the petition, Göran Landberg, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, was quoted saying, "It's difficult for us to reach a consensus on these issues, but dialogue is important. As we see it, animal experiments are still needed in some kinds of research, to develop new medicines and treatment methods and gain basic knowledge."

The Daily Mail reported that, however, a decision has already been taken by the chairman of the organization that the labradors will be killed despite the signatures obtained on the petition as well as the criticism they've faced on social media.

The university responded to the backlash on social media by saying they understood the strong emotions and that they supported the dialogue on the ethics of animal testing but said the experiments on the labradors were a necessity as they would help patients with dental disease eat and speak.

In Sweden, tests can be carried out on animals only with the approval of the Swedish Board of Agriculture's Animal Ethics Committee and this approval is only obtained if the university can prove that there is no alternative method.

The University of Gothenburg has obtained this approval — they stated they chose dogs instead of any other animal because of the familiarity between their saliva and oral bacteria and those of humans.