In 2011 I wrote a post about the number of animal rights incidents posted on the Bite Back website (warning: AR extremist website) which logs many incidents of animal rights extremism around the world. The analysis only looks at the July - September period as it was too cumbersome to get all the figures for … Continue reading Global Trends in Animal Rights Activism 2013
Category: Animal Rights News
Animal research and diabetes: Now the truth must be told – Part 2
In yesterday's post we described how animal research contributed to the understanding and treatment of diabetes – most importantly with the discovery of insulin. In this post we address some of the common misinformation that activists are circulating on social media about the role of animal experiments in diabetes research. a) One of the most valuable … Continue reading Animal research and diabetes: Now the truth must be told – Part 2
Don’t let PeTA bullies control the direction of medical research, education and training
What do you know? PeTA is at it again. This time their rage is directed at “RoboRoach” — a science project aimed at introducing students to sensory neurophysiology and brain-machine interfaces. Backyard Brains is selling an experiment for educational purposes that illustrates one of the fundamental scientific tools that allow us to restore function in patients … Continue reading Don’t let PeTA bullies control the direction of medical research, education and training
Blocking the Breeding of Beagles is Bad for their Well-Being
While 2013 might be the Chinese year of the Snake, it might be reasonably described as the European year of the research beagle. In the last few years beagles have been moving towards the top of the animal rights agenda. In 2012, activists broke into Marshall breeding facility in Milan, Italy, and carried out dozens … Continue reading Blocking the Breeding of Beagles is Bad for their Well-Being
Closing your eyes may open your heart
A statement of fact can be falsified by presenting a single counterexample. For example, the claim that “Pigs don’t fly” can be proven false by just finding one that does. Similarly, the claim that “we owe the same moral consideration to all sentient living beings” can be falsified by considering scenarios where acting on such … Continue reading Closing your eyes may open your heart
Why Animal Experiments Work – Reason 2: Animals Can Mimic Human Diseases
There is a lot we still need to understand about how our bodies work, how it may be affected by diseases, and how we can alleviate these conditions. We use our knowledge to create hypotheses and then must use repeated trials to test these theories. One of the difficulties of testing in humans is that … Continue reading Why Animal Experiments Work – Reason 2: Animals Can Mimic Human Diseases
PeTA: When everything else fails, bring out a celebrity
Opponents of the use of animals in medical research have failed to make a compelling scientific and moral argument against the work. Having repeated the same arguments for more than a century, and recognizing they are unlikely to succeed in the future, their strategies have shifted towards the simple goal of interfering and obstructing animal research in … Continue reading PeTA: When everything else fails, bring out a celebrity
Animal welfare inspectors clear UW-Madison cat research of PETA allegations, important hearing research continues
A second federal agency charged with oversight of animal research has completed a thorough investigation of an animal rights group's complaints about sound localization research with cats at the University of Wisconsin. Summary of the result: “there was no direct noncompliance with the PHS Policy or serious deviation from the provisions of the Guide for … Continue reading Animal welfare inspectors clear UW-Madison cat research of PETA allegations, important hearing research continues
Speaking of Research 