I once attended a neuroscience conference featuring a talk about spinal cord injury. The presenter showed a brief video clip that haunts me still to this day. The presenter showed a clip of his experiment in which he had crushed a cats spinal cord and was recording the cats movement on a treadmill. He had forcibly implanted electrodes into the cats brain and she was struggling to keep upright, dragging her paralyzed legs on the treadmill. She repeatedly fell off the machine. At one point, the experimenter lifted her up to reposition her on the treadmill and the cat did something that was utterly unexpected. She rubbed her head against the experimenters hand. Throughout this series on animal experiments, I have tried to draw attention to the general ineffectiveness of animal experiments and how they impede our chances of finding cures. I have focused on the human side of the equation. But we should also take a brief look at the animal side: Just who are these animals abused in experimentation? Its difficult for us to imagine what the lives are like for these animals. This is because these secretive experiments are hidden from public view and have been retreated to windowless, basement laboratories. We want to believe that those in the white coats are acting responsibly and that the animals are treated humanely. Well, I have visited numerous laboratories and witnessed countless experiments on animals and I can tell you from personal experience that nothing is further from the truth. As soon as you walk into a laboratory, you cant help but notice the rows and rows of barren cages holding sad animals living under the glare of fluorescent bulbs. Their bodies are burned, mutilated and scarred. Animals who have had their heads crushed grip their faces and convulse as blood pours out of their noses. You can smell and taste the stench of blood, feces and fear….. vimeo/26521650 huffingtonpost/aysha-akhtar/who-are-the-animals_b_4545611.html Please sign the petitions: change.org/petitions/stop-animal-testing-replace-animals-in-research-with-non-animal-alternative-methods thepetitionsite/8/against-animal-testing-of-any-kind/ boycottmarshallpetproducts.blogspot/2013/03/petitions-sign-against-animal-testing.html
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 02:15:16 +0000