In the last two days we have seen two important articles on animal experimentation. On Wednesday, March 19, The American Spectator Online included a heartening piece about the move away from animal testing. And today's, Thursday, March 20, Baltimore Sun includes an op-ed urging the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to get with the times and dump its live animal labs.
The American Spectator piece, by Gilbert Ross M.D., is headed, "Jumping Ship From the Rats."
It opens:
"We won! That is, the forces of science-based public health policy seem to have won -- if not the war, at least a major battle. At long last, federal risk assessors and regulators have come around to the view that administering chemicals to rodents in super-high doses does not reliably predict human risk -- of cancer, or anything else -- and that a better method needs to be employed, if we are to avoid more unnecessary bans, anti-chemical media hysteria, and activist crusades.
"High dose animal tests on one rodent species don't reliably predict cancer risk in another rodent type, much less in humans. The same tests for 'carcinogens' that are used to condemn synthetic chemicals also give false positive findings for a whole spectrum of natural substances that we safely eat, breathe, and drink every day."
Ross writes that "the old way of testing for chemical carcinogens is not valid." He expresses guarded hope about the new system, and writes, "My gut reaction is to say it can't be any worse than the useless current method."
You'll find the full article on line at http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=12914 and can send a letter to the editor at editor@Spectator.org
Always include your full name, address and telephone number.
The Baltimore Sun op-ed, by Dr Barbara Wasserman, is headed, "Hopkins Should Stop Using Live Animals for Surgical Training." (pg 13a)
It opens:
"They have disappeared from more than 90 percent of U.S. medical schools. They are no longer used in training programs by the American College of Surgeons. And the American Medical Student Association now strongly recommends that they be replaced by modern alternatives.
"So why is the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine the last of the top 20-ranked medical schools in America still using live animals to train its students?
"As a proud graduate of the medical school - one of the nation's best - I am hoping Hopkins will improve upon its excellent reputation by ending this cruel and outdated practice."
You'll find that whole article on line at
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.animals20mar20,0,1672017.story
Please scroll down, give the column a five star rating, and perhaps post a quick comment. Most importantly, go to the PCRM page at
http://tinyurl.com/2kzgnx where you can easily, electronically, send a letter to Hopkins's Dean Edward D. Miller, M.D., and to Chair of the Department of Surgery, Julie A. Freischlag, M.D. urging them to end the practice of using live animals as teaching tools. It will take you just a moment and make a huge difference for the animals and for medical progress.
Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn
(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)
Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read advance reviews of Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals" and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.