Today is clearly a day for me spotting online petitions. This one has been signed by Tony Blair and has provoked the following response from the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection:
“This petition is being run by an extremist group of vested interests representing a very narrow area of medical research.
“They want to see the UK continue with an outdated method of research as opposed to taking up more advanced, non-animal scientific methods.”
Extremists? This is what the petition actually says (my emphasis):
I believe that medical research is essential for developing new medical and veterinary treatments. I understand that finding safe and effective treatments and medicines requires some studies using animals.
I believe that medical research using animals, carried out to the highest standards of care and welfare, and where there is no alternative available, should continue in the UK.
I believe that people involved in medical research using animals have a right to work and live without fear of intimidation or attack.
If BUAV really believe that is “extremism” then their condemnation of anti-vivisectionist terrorism is meaningless. I have no problem whatsoever signing up to the People’s Petition – even if it is endorsed by Blair – and I suggest you do too. For the sake of balance however, I do recommend this article.
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I could never recommend signing a petition where the petitioners don’t even say who they are.
Neither would I. Good job I didn’t:
I was prompted to sign by that rather silly statement from BUAV.
In particularly it was their comment that ‘only’ 13K people had signed so far, apparantly far fewer people than belong to various animal rights organisations.
Given that the petition was only launched a couple of weeks ago I thought this was a very silly argument, and will look even sillier when a much largernumber of people have signed it.
Aha! Clearly I shouldn’t use the internet late at night. I still can’t sign it though. I even oppose lobsters who want to do experiments on humans.