Is it right to test on living creatures? (From Swindon Advertiser)

Is it right to test on living creatures?

12:28pm Thursday 9th March 2006 in Letters

I HAVE been looking at the Pro-Test website after hearing what they have had to say about animal testing. And have a few comments.

Speaking after the recent demonstration L Pycroft states the suffering of a few animals is ok if it improves the lives of humans.

Have you looked at the Pro-Test website Mr Pycroft? It states on there that 50 million animals are used worldwide in experiments. Is that what you call a few?

It is also quoted that numerous deaths and injuries have been caused by inadequate animal testing. Many animal-tested drugs have caused illness to patients who end up in hospital or worse, as a side effect from drugs that have been tested on animals.

But apart from these issues, is it morally right to test on any living creature so that another can live longer? The pain and stress these animals go through is appalling.

We should be funding alternative research that excludes the use of animals, not using more and more animals in tests that in a lot of cases repeat procedures that have been done many times before.

M HOOPER Swindon