Canadians:

Yesterday’s Toronto Star, August 29, included a superb op-ed by Jessica Scott-Reid titled, “Animal Testing is Cruel and Unneeded” (page 15). It opens:

“Is the use of animal testing in science helping or hindering progress for humans? And can using animals in scientific testing ever be considered ethical? These are the questions that have once again come up for debate after a recent investigation revealed an Ontario hospital was testing on dogs in painful cardiac experiments. Proponents of animal testing want you to believe that the use of animal models in the development and testing of drugs and treatments and products for humans is a necessary evil: not so nice to think about, but ultimately worth it for the greater good. And don’t worry, here in Canada we do it all very humanely, whether it involves tormenting puppies, pigs or primates.

“That’s what they want you to believe. But the truth is that continuing to rely on animal models in biomedical science is holding us back from real cures, while also holding animals unnecessarily in laboratories. Worse, the people in charge of overseeing how ‘humanely’ we induce those heart attacks in dogs, kidney failure in mice and Alzheimer’s in monkeys are not overseen by law or government, but rather abiding by their own standards of what constitutes ‘humane.’

Please check out the piece and  send a quick note of support to the Toronto Star. Positive feedback for animal friendly content encourages more of it!

Yours and all animals’,

Karen Dawn of DawnWatch