One of the first groups of people I tangled with when I started my blog were the lovely folk at Negotiation is Over.
And it’s where one of my first “readers” found my blog. Because of my support for the biologists and students of biology at the University of Florida and the right to study free from harassment (Yes, that’s the Meowcenary). I never really expected to get this big as a blog and honestly most of the stuff I wrote was mainly because we both just wanted to vent at people who made our lives miserable.
This may not be secular but it is how I started.
I am all for treating animals ethically. And I understand that animal research isn’t the ideal but it is currently the best we have. And I know that through animal research we are trying to make animal research redundant. I know that as a practice, Animal Research is more heavily policed than the Kennel Club and professional animal breeders.
So it is “more of the same” for me to hear that Animal Liberation “Activists” occupied an animal research facility at the University of Milan and then helped save the animals by releasing mice and rabbits while mixing up cage labels to confuse experimental protocols effectively destroying years of research work.
These animals were mainly used as genetic models for psychiatric disorders such as autism, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s Disease.
The attack was staged by the Animal Liberation group called Stop Green Hill which normally targets a dog-breeding facility. Five Activists broke in using two of them as human hostages by chaining their necks to doors to ensure they stayed shut while they destroyed the research.
Meanwhile they were protected by hundreds of animal rights sympathisers.
The ultimate joke is that a fair few of the animals were mutant mice including “nude” mice who are immunosuppressed. Outside the confines of the lab they are littl
Some of the mice they removed were delicate mutants and immunosuppressed ‘nude’ mice, which die very quickly outside controlled environments such as an animal experimentation laboratory. Oh and in a repeat of the kind of attacks Negotiation is Over and Camille Marino attempted at Florida, they posted the names of researchers.
The point of that is to encourage personal attacks on them. The sort of “Fair Game” strategy that the Animal Liberation movement includes death threats, personal property damage and most importantly, threats on others who know you. You may have the stones to fight them but your wife may not appreciate them mailing razorblades to her.
The bullying tactics of animal liberation must stop. PETA is the “Acceptable” face of these people but it merely provides a smokescreen of flag wavers who support the extreme actions of those who think that their actions help animals. In effect all these animal liberation activists have done is doom MORE animals to a horrible death, increased the cost of research, delayed research that they often require (Remember, even the Vaunted Camille Marino admitted she needed ICU care that was developed through animal experimentation).
The major people currently affected are the researchers who have seen years of research and sometimes entire PhD.s go up by the actions of neo-luddites who destroy things that they don’t understand or don’t require. But it also affects a lot of humans who are subject to these diseases.
Avicenna is blogging for the SSA and is trying to reach the goal of $500 of your shiny American Dollars. Help him do so by donating here. And leave your suggestions on the concurrent hangout happening over here.