A Plea To Do No Harm: Preserving & Protecting America's Scientists

When Peter Singer's Animal Liberation was published in 1975, activists seeking to reframe questions about the role of animals in human society found a philosophical basis for their radical world view. They envisioned an "idyllic" world in which there was: no meat, eggs, dairy products or honey on the table; no leather, wool or silk for clothing; no Lassie rescuing Timmy; no hearts racing to Barbaro's thundering hoofs; and absolutely no use of animal models — purpose-bred rats, mice, guinea pigs or sheep — to improve and protect both human and animal life.

There is a painful irony in the fact that the modern animal rights movement, so dedicated to protecting animals from harm, has increasingly engaged in violent campaigns to inflict pain and suffering on people they deem "the enemy". The rhetoric is harsh and inflammatory, and many extreme activists use the right to free speech as the excuse to intimidate, harass and promote violence. Such attacks under the banner of "helping animals" do far more damage than good.

There is nothing warm and fuzzy about harassing scientists, whose private lives have been disrupted by hate mail and razor blades embedded in envelopes, whose cars have been fire-bombed, and whose children have been threatened.

Imagine the sense of violation and fear felt by citizens targeted by the animal "rightists" — citizens whose personal information has been posted on an Internet list of 2,000 individuals — whose only connection to animal research is their place of employment. Imagine the terror of a patient opening a holiday card containing curses and wishes for his death because he hopes animal research will lead to a treatment for his incurable disease.

Sadly, Dr. Jerry Vlasak, self-proclaimed spokesman of the Animal Liberation Front, stated during a Senate hearing on domestic terrorism that he believes the murder of researchers is morally justifiable in the struggle to liberate laboratory animals. Morally justifiable???

Although the FBI has not attributed any deaths to illegal incidents, extremist groups like the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) are inflicting serious damage to the medical research community by creating a calculated culture of fear. Beyond the devastating loss of young people turned off to careers in bioscience, the costs are enormous: more than $100 million in property damage; the expense of upgraded security systems; the flight of dedicated, highly trained researchers leaving America for a more research-friendly environment or leaving the field for one less threatening.

Animal research is fundamental to improving and protecting human and animal life. While rodents comprise more than 90 percent of the animals used, we are grateful to a wide range of species for their contributions to knowledge about human and animal diseases. We know much about the safety and efficacy of many present day protocols and medicines that we now take for granted because of the knowledge we attained through animal testing – antibiotics, inhalers, bypass surgery, cataract surgery, chemotherapy – just to name a few.

After he perfected his surgery technique in dogs, Nobel Prize winner Joseph Murray uncovered ways to overcome organ rejection. Today, over 20,000 people each year have a chance for a longer, healthier life because of organ transplants.

Studies of zebrafish, small aquarium fish that can regenerate their central nervous system, may help researchers create new treatments for spinal cord injuries and degenerative diseases such as glaucoma.

Scientists have found a genetic link between aging and the onset of Alzheimer's by studying roundworms.

A team of scientists studying pigeons with a genetic heart disease is investigating why some patients' heart vessels become re-blocked after angioplasty.

The list of medical advances to which animal models have contributed goes on and on. The majority of medical procedures, devices and pharmaceuticals that are a routine part of modern healthcare from hip replacements to vaccines give lie to the charge that there have been no gains derived from animal research.

The question for some is "Don't we know enough?" Ask anyone with Parkinson's, pancreatic cancer, diabetes, HIV AIDS or Alzheimer's disease, and the answer will be a resounding "No." Ask the parents of a baby doomed from conception to waste away from an incurable genetic disease like Tay-Sachs or Batten's disease. Ask the family of a young mother in the prime of life, who has been struck by multiple sclerosis. Each wants the search for cures and treatments to move forward using every possible tool and technique known to science. For the present and the foreseeable future, that must include live animal models.

Survival of one's own species can be considered a moral imperative. In the process, our responsibility as a caring community is to maintain the highest standards of animal care and use as we search for cures, treatments and ways to prevent diseases that kill or disable us. We must also strive to reduce the number of animals we use, refine research techniques to minimize pain and distress, and replace animals whenever equally as effective and reliable alternatives become available.