The pros and cons of animal agony

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Both sides in the debate over the scientific use of animals had their say at last Tuesday's panel discussion at McGill "The Future of Animals in Medical Research," organized by the local QPIRG chapter.

"Doing research on animals does not necessarily give us good information as to how to treat human beings," said Dr. Ray Greek, a member of Americans for Medical Advancement who flew in for the event. "Animals are not just fuzzy people."

Greek contends that the pharmaceutical industry uses animal research largely to protect themselves against lawsuits when things go horribly wrong--as in the case of the thalidomide babies of the '60s.

Animal testing opponents say there are other ways to gather data, including the use of computer technology, cell tissue cultures and chemical toxicity tests.

But McGill's Dr. Pierre Lachapelle, also on the panel, told the Mirror that those in favour of animal research are aware of the alternatives, but don't believe these techniques go far enough to provide safe drugs and treatments for humans.

Also present at the meeting were Dr. Gilly Griffin and Marie Bedard from the Canadian Council on Animal Care; and Gloria Grow of the Fauna Foundation. : --Gemma Wilson

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