Around a week ago we mentioned that the Society for Neuroscience had emailed all its members to support the Pro-Test Petition. Now the American Physiological Society (APS) has followed suit by emailing all its members.
Dear APS Colleague,
I join with the members of the American Physiological Society Council in urging you to add your voice to those of other scientists showing their support for humane animal research. Research advocates at Americans for Medical Progress, UCLA Pro-Test, and Speaking of Research have set up an online petition supporting humane animal research. Please consider adding your name, as we have, by going to http://www.raisingvoices.net/.
The Pro-Test Petition was inspired by a 2006 petition in the U.K. that gathered the signatures of over 20,000 people, including then Prime Minister Tony Blair. That petition helped to turn the tide of public opinion in the U.K. in favor of animal research. As a result, in 2008, supporters of research were able to celebrate the completion of a laboratory in Oxford whose construction had been halted for more than a year due to harassment and intimidation by animal rights extremists.
With violence against researchers escalating in the U.S., now is the time for members of the research community to publicly reaffirm the need for humane animal research. The APS has long been proud of the role it has played in promoting humane animal research and will continue to support such research in the future.
Thank you for considering this opportunity. If you decide to sign the petition, I hope that you will also forward it to interested colleagues, urging them to do the same.
Sincerely,
Gary C. Sieck, PhD
President
Hopefully the APS members will help give a boost the Pro-Test Petition which currently boasts over 8,000 signatures. Many thanks to the APS President, Gary C. Sieck, and we hope more organizations will follow suit.
Are you part of a bioscience organization? If so, email your president and urge them to follow the example of the Society for Neuroscience and email their members to inform them about this important petition.
Cheers
Tom
Speaking of Research 