Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

A Message From Pano, William G. Conway

Zoos and Aquariums Collection

The memo attached was found in an unstamped envelope with no return address on the grounds of the Bronx Zoo. It appears to have been written by a chimpanzee on assignment from a clandestine organization in Africa.

Fight For Alternatives Gathers Momentum: Commitments To Help Lab Animals Are Extracted From Industry And Government

Close Up Reports

The Humane Society of the United States wants to see an eventual end to all pain and suffering inflicted on animals in the laboratory. We are working hard to make this happen, and the "alternatives" concept is basic to our program. We want scientists to find alternative methods of testing and experimentation that do not involve the use of animals.

Ethical Concerns In Primate Use And Husbandry, Ardith A. Eudey

Experimentation Collection

Subsequent to World War II, a dramatic increase occurred in the utilization of nonhuman primates in biomedical and psychological research and industry. At the same time field studies on the ecological and social behavior of natural populations of primates also increased, making possible more realistic assessments of both the behavioral potentiality of primate populations and their conservation status. In spite of the growing body of information indicating the endangered or threatened status of most species, many laboratory workers and planning agencies continue to regard primates as renewable resources, even seeking to bypass protective legislation in habitat countries to obtain them. …

Biomedical Research And Animal Welfare: Traditional Viewpoints And Future Directions, Franklin M. Loew

Experimentation Collection

It has been twenty years since C.P. Snow first presented the concept of "The Two Cultures"; referring to the "culture" of scientists and the "culture" of literary intellectuals (mainly writers), Snow said (1969):

... constantly I felt I was moving among two groups- comparable in intelligence, identical in race, not grossly different in social origin, earning about the same incomes, who had almost ceased to communicate at all, who in intellectual, moral and psychological climate had so little in common ...

In some ways, "Two Cultures" goes far to characterize the current state of affairs surrounding those whose scientific endeavors …

The Psychology Of Euthanizing Animals: The Emotional Components, Charles E. Owens, Ricky Davis, Bill Hurt Smith

Human and Animal Bonding Collection

The emotional effects of euthanizing unwanted animals on professional animal control personnel are examined using written statements of and discussions among twenty-six euthanasia technicians at a workshop during a national session of the Animal Control Academy (Tuscaloosa, AL]. Emotional conflicts arise .in significant part from the dilemma that the same public which is responsible for the problem of unwanted animals also has a markedly negative perception of euthanasia, and by extension, of those who perform euthanasia. During discussions, the euthanasia technicians revealed a variety of strategies for coping with feelings of isolation, alienation and sorrow. These included intellectualization, avoidance of …

Conversation With Henry Spira: Draize Test Activist, Lynne Harriton

Interviews

No abstract provided.

Beyond Conspecifics: Is Brer Rabbit Our Brother?, Gordon Burghardt, Harold Herzog

Experimentation Collection

Today, on many fronts, there is renewed interest in our relationship with nonhuman animals. Many factors have contributed to this concern. Environmental and ecological awareness has drawn public attention to the near extermination of many species and the detrimental effects of pollution, pesticides, and habitat destruction. The inefficiency of transmuting vegetable protein to meat has added to the traditional moral arguments of vegetarians. The widespread questioning of government support for basic research has been intertwined with suspicions about the use and worth of any studies on animals, even those purporting to help understand human medical and behavioral problems. New evidence …

Live Animals In Car Crash Studies, Nancy Heneson

Experimentation Collection

The scientific rationale for using live animals in car crash studies proceeds from the argument that comparative biomedical and biomechanical data are needed to develop an instrumented dummy, or anthropomorphic test device, which will provide reliable, reproducible information for designing safe cars. The animal studies are thus not really ends in themselves, i.e., they do not supply data which can be readily applied to real situations. Instead, they contribute to a pool of information which is supposed to lead to the perfecting of an experimental subject (the instrumented dummy) which will eventually render the further use of Iive animals unnecessary.

Nsmr: Its Image, Direction And Future, J. Russell Lindsey

Experimentation Collection

The point I wish to emphasize is that NSMR, like all of its predecessors representing the scientific community, has consistently maintained a defensive posture while claiming that a// practices of animal use and care within the biomedical community have been "lily white." In my judgment, this has been a major tactical error because abuses of freedoms to use animals in research too frequently have been and continue to be common knowledge (e.g., Science, Editorial, 1976). NSMR's complete unwillingness to face up to these realities and torespond positively to the public's legitimate concerns has led to the inevitable loss of credibility …

Ethology And Laboratory Animal Welfare, James A. Cohen

Laboratory Experiments Collection

At its annual conference, held this June at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, the Animal Behavior Society (ABS) passed a resolution opposing HR 4805, a bill which would establish a National Center for Alternative Research to develop and coordinate alternative methods of research and testing which do not involve the use of live animals. The ABS, which represents some 1750 North American animal behavior researchers, took issue with the bill on the grounds that: a) it discourages replication of previously-obtained results, b) there are currently no satisfactory substitutes for live animals in behavioral research, c) it would complicate and …

Laboratory Animals And Alternatives In The 80'S, Andrew N. Rowan

Laboratory Experiments Collection

No abstract provided.

Pain-Infliction In Animal Research, Dorothy Tennov

Experimentation Collection

A summary of research outlining the main sources of pain and stress to animals in laboratories provides the background for the results of a survey conducted by the author on how students feel about experimentation involving animals. The psychological aspects of student reaction to animal experimentation are examined. The conclusion outlines specific recommendations on ways to minimize pain and discomfort of laboratory animals.

Definition Of The Concept Of "Humane Treatment" In Relation To Food And Laboratory Animals, Bernard E. Rollin

Animal Welfare Collection

The very title of this talk makes a suggestion which must be forestalled, namely the idea that laboratory and food animals enjoy some exceptional moral status by virtue of the fact that we use them. In fact, it is extremely difficult to find any morally relevant grounds for distinguishing between food and laboratory animals and other animals and, far more dramatically, between animals and humans. The same conditions which require that we apply moral categories to humans rationally require that we apply them to animals as well. While it is obviously pragmatically impossible in our current sociocultural setting to expect …

Amputation Of Vibrissae In Show Dogs, Thomas E. Mcgill

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

Dogs of many different breeds competing in the show-ring are routinely subjected to amputation of the vibrissae, organs that are commonly and incorrectly called "whiskers." This procedure is thought to give the animal's head a cleaner look, which in turn supposedly increases its chances of winning. There are several tricks involved in "whisker trimming" since the animals can retract each vibrissae at least one-quarter inch. Furthermore, they often object strenuously to the operation.

Euthanasia Of Dogs And Cats: An Analysis Of Experience And Current Knowledge With Recommendation For Research, T. Carding, The Institute For The Study Of Animal Problems

Euthanasia Collection

While it may be regarded by some as inhumane or unethical to take any life, mankind, as responsible stewards of animals, is obliged to do so for many reasons: for food, health, population control, to alleviate incurable suffering, etc. Yet beyond the ironies and ethical dilemmas of the right to life versus the right to take life, lies the necessity to destroy life. This entails an enormous ethical responsibility relevant to the times, and also the moral injunction that the method of killing be humane, in other words, causing the least possible distress, physically and psychologically. This injunction implies, therefore, …

The Behaviour Of Swine, J. P. Signoret, B. A. Baldwin, D. Fraser, E. S. E. Hafez

Mammalogy Collection

The pig was a forest-dwelling animal from the beginning of its history. In some parts of the world it has been domesticated for at least 7000 years. The European breeds of domestic swine were derived from the local wild pig, Sus scrofa. Herds ranged in pastures and forests and kept indoors only for fattening. The breeds in the Far East were derived from another wild pig, Sus vittatus, a smaller animal with shorter legs and a higher reproductive ability (Mohr 1960; Zeuner 1963). The two types interbred readily. The modem breeds of pig evolved from different crossings between the two …

Special Report On Shipping Animals By Air

Special Reports

Animals are too often treated like just another piece of baggage, no more valuable than a suitcase or a mail sack. Missed or cancelled flights are seldom more than inconveniences to human passengers, but to animals they can mean death. The Humane Society has concluded that shippers and handlers will provide humane conditions and treatment only when forced to do so.

Problems In Transportation Of Animals, Alice M. Wagner

Animal Welfare Collection

This afternoon we are considering the problems involved in the transportation of animals. Undoubtedly we have all had people problems as we travel by car, train and by air, and with the increase of travel things seem to be growing worse instead of better. I commuted from my home in New Jersey to Philadelphia for 18 1/2 years - a round trip of five hours - so I know plenty of things that can happen in transportation and commutation.

So it is with animals. An increasing number of animals are being shipped - shipped as pets, shipped as meat animals, …

Protection For Animals In Biomedical Research, F. L. Thomsen

Laboratory Experiments Collection

Our conclusion from all of this work and study is that not just a small part, but that most of the suffering undergone by laboratory animals in "unnecessary" under the terms of the pain provisions of the Rogers-Javits bill. Granted, it will take some time and effort to bring about the necessary interpretations of these provisions. The Act, when passed, offers us the medium through which to obtain such interpretations.

This unnecessary suffering results mostly from the indifference, and from the inertia and the lack of proper scientific training and technical knowledge, of many of those conducting laboratory animal experiments …

Our Pet Population Explosion And Operation Spared, Kay Clausing

Pets Collection

All humane societies are dedicated to preventing cruelty and suffering. No society can effectively prevent cruelty unless it makes spaying compulsory for all females released for adoption and talks spaying to every owner of a female. Even if the home is a good one in every other respect, if a female is permitted to produce even one litter, the humane society is simply delaying or postponing cruelty. In fact, it is perpetuating it. When the female (which your society otherwise placed so carefully) has a litter, often its owners are not qualified to judge what constitutes a good home. In …

How Can We Best Help Laboratory Animals Now?, Oliver Evans

Laws and Legislation Collection

No abstract provided.

The War Against Surplus Breeding, Irene Castle

Puppy Mills Collection

Almost the whole humane movement is snowed under and overwhelmed by the still mounting flood of surplus cats and dogs. The surplus turns our shelters into sordid slaughterhouses. It distorts and perverts the thinking of many even of our very best people. Hundreds of our societies are kept permanently on the edge of bankruptcy by the single problem of taking in and disposing of cats and dogs which are homeless or unwanted simply because of the immense surplus of such animals.

It is so easy for all of us to throw up our hands and denounce veterinarians for the high …