Suffering for the actions of a few
May 17, 2006 ~ 7:14 p.m.
I think it�s fair to say that if not for the extremist actions of animal rights supporters, Tony Blair would not have come out swinging in favor of vivisection in medicinal research. Blair is simply riding a wave of populist disgust at the actions of four graverobbing animal activists in an attempt to nab approval ratings. Shareholders in a prominent pharmaceutical company were also threatened, prompting Blair to act.
He�s gone so far as to sign the People�s Petition.
I can only ask, do two wrongs make a right in this case? Do we really need to defend the torture of lab animals just to express our disgust with the animal rights extremists? I would have thought punishing them with lengthy jail sentences would have been enough. But instead, Blair and his government have seen fit to endorse the suffering of animals in what is clearly an anti-animal welfare statement.
For the majority of decent animal lovers and anti-vivisectionists who abide by the law and don�t sponsor animal-related terrorism, this is a slap in the face. It�s tarring us with the same brush. Where the War on Terror is concerned, we�re constantly being told, don�t judge all Muslims. Our sensitivities go on high alert whenever we hear of Camp X-Ray guards flushing Korans in the toilet.
But if you care about animal welfare and oppose vivisection, well, take that! If it offends you, remember all the human lives that could be saved. We�ll just not mention the fact that so many drugs that showed positive results on animals have shown or at least demonstrated the potential for serious harm when tried on humans.
The pro-vivisection crowd tells us, all mammals are related. Humans share certain traits with guinea pigs, rabbits, rats and pigs. But if you slice open a rabbit�s stomach, you are looking at rabbit guts. Rabbits munch on grass. Different digestive system, different immune system. Omnivorous humans have their own distinct genetic pattern and make-up. I am inclined to be wary of taking some drug simply because a rat was forced to take it and was found to be alright in the end.
Vivisection is a business. Profits flood in from the torture of animals. Just as the abortion industry rakes in millions from its own slaughter, so do the drug and medical companies. It�s big business telling people, �Look, if I do several sick and twisted things to this lab animal, one day you and yours will be able to live a cancer-free life.�
Even if that were true � and I don�t believe it ever will be � you�re still left with the amazingly arrogant statement: �Well, we�re human. At the end of the day, we�re the only species that really matter.�
Fish stocks dwindle due to human overfishing � we blame and kill the seals. We encroach upon the territories of alligators in Florida � we blame and kill the alligators. We believe that medicinal research on animals will bring about a cure-all for human diseases � we torture and kill untold numbers of animals year after year.
This, despite mounting evidence that vivisection is unscientific. Yet, because we�ve been lied to over and over again by drugs companies and research facilities with slick PR offices, we believe that animals will help us by suffering and dying for us.
My disgust with vivisectionists also extends to the extreme faction of the animal rights movement. Not only is their terrorism cowardly � as indeed are all terrorists � but they do much more harm than good to the cause they support. Thanks to the latest spate of animal terrorism in Britain, the good-hearted animal welfare movement has probably been set back a generation.
However, Tony Blair should have known better than to stick up for animal research. The People�s Petition he signed is a sick travesty. But then, we�re human. We never learn from our mistakes.
� M.E.M.
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Copyright � 2001-2007 by M.E. Manning. All material is written by me, unless explicitly stated otherwise by use of footnotes or bylines. Do not copy or redistribute without my permission.
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