Presenter Good morning everybody. I’m Joe Templer. It’s eleven o’clock which means it’s time for another edition of Crosstalk, the phone-in programme which looks at today’s hot issues. The subject of today’s discussion is whether vivisection – that’s experimenting on live animals – is ever justified. Now if you want to take part in today’s debate, the number to ring is 01 – if you’re outside London – 833 3974. But before that, in the studio I have two guests to open the debate. They are Professor Anna Wright from Queen Margaret Hospital and Peter Savage of the Free the Animals Movement. Good morning to the both of you.
Anna Wright Good morning.
Peter Savage Good morning.
Presenter OK then, if you’d like to put your point of view first, Professor Wright.
Anna Wright Thank you. Now I must state categorically that for advances in medicine we count on being able to carry out experiments on animals. Without them, there would be no progress. We are unable to observe human beings in scientifically controlled conditions so unfortunately we have to rely on animals. Medicine has made enormous advances based on the results of vivisection. For example, our knowledge of the nervous system is largely due to vivisection. It has allowed us to find cures for many illnesses. Diptheria, smallpox and TB used to be killers in the old days but not any more. If you were bitten by a dog with rabies, you had very little chance of surviving. Now there is an antidote. Cancer recovery rates have greatly improved thanks to the work done on animals. And I’m afraid drugs have to be tested on animals prior to their release on the market to check for side effects. Nobody takes any pride in causing suffering and I can assure the listeners it is kept to an absolute minimum.
Presenter Thank you very much, Professor Wright. Over to you, Peter.
Peter Savage Thanks. I’d like to start by saying that I’m speaking on behalf of animals. On the issue of testing drugs on animals for side effects in human beings, as we know from the thalidomide case, it’s very difficult to predict what the effect of a drug will be on human beings from tests done on animals. They just don’t tell us the whole story. As for understanding the nervous system, I think most experts would agree that this could have been done equally well by careful observation and nothing more. Professor Wright points to the reduction in the number of deaths from diseases like diphtheria, TB and smallpox. This is utter nonsense because these diseases were in decline already and they’ve been on the decline primarily because of improvements in hygiene, not animal experiments. No, the whole thing is rubbish. If we look at penicillin and aspirin, two of the most famous modern drugs, these drugs were found by accident! So much for medical research! And Professor Wright’s argument completely ignores the moral dimension. The point is experiments on animals should be stopped because they are cruel and inhumane. Dogs are made to smoke cigarettes and rats and mice have shampoo and cosmetics squirted in their eyes to see what will happen. Dogs don’t smoke and mice don’t wash their hair. Very often these animals have suffered so much they have to be put down. Basically, we should take care of animals not take advantage of them.
Presenter Thanks, Peter. OK then. So it’s over to you, the listeners. Our first call...
(from Think First Certificate, by J.Naunton. Unit 10)
UNIT 3
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