Abstract

To paraphrase 18th-century statesman Edmund Burke, “all that is needed for the triumph of a misguided cause is that good people do nothing.” One such cause now seeks to end biomedical research because of the theory that animals have rights precluding their use in research. Scientists need to respond forcefully to animal rights advocates, whose arguments are confusing the public and thereby threatening advances in health knowledge and care. There is little logic in emotional campaigns to end the practice of animal experimentation. A 1990 study found that although 63 percent of animal rights literature concerns the use of animals in science, such use each year involves 0.003 percent of the number of animals consumed for food. Only half as many animals undergo medical procedures in research as endure surgery ordered by pet owners for cosmetic reasons.* Faulty logic, however, may be good strategy. Leaders of the animal rights movement target biomedical research because it depends on public funding, and few people understand the process of health care research.