Behind closed doors

1439:

Some activists break into vivisection laboratories to rescue the animals there.  Judging by what they have to do to get in and what they find when they get inside, their actions seem both commendable and brave.  They not only want to rescue the animals but want to expose what they find there by filming what they see and showing it.

But, on the receiving end, when shown, people don’t like to look.  If visual evidence appears on TV they go for the remote and changes channels immediately.  They don’t want to know.

Our society gives tacit approval for what goes on in these places because, for selfish reasons, we have been led to believe that scientists will discover cures for major diseases by way of animal research.  The public like to think of vivisectors as being altruistically determined to rid the world of the scourge of disease, and some may be doing just that, but it can never be justified if innocent creatures are going to be tortured and sacrificed in the process.

Here’s where good intention steps over into madness.  The scientist is dishonest too, when they talk about their ‘work with animals’.  They speak as if the animal is voluntarily conscripting itself, in its zeal to help the human race with their medical problems.

If the public are sold on the idea that pharmaceutical safety must involve animal testing, then it’s no surprise that they condemn the animal rescuers and praise the vivisectors.  By giving these trusted, white-coated scientists the go-ahead, to use anything (including animals) to fight disease, they give them approval for their 'noble work'.  No mention is made of the details of experiments which cause animal suffering.  Animal laboratories are closed to the public, just as intensive farms or abattoirs are, for the same reasons.  Obviously there's a lot to be kept hidden in these places

I find it hard to accept the lack of support we get from the public.  Certainly, it disgusts me, the cruelty of farmers and scientists.  But why has all this not yet registered in people’s minds?  It’s infuriating when people don’t respond to the stories they hear about animal treatment, whether in abattoirs or farms or in animal research centres.  They may be softies and generous to their own kind but when it comes to the fate of these animals, their indifference makes them appear both hard hearted and selfish.