Your Montreal Gazette

Testing is essential
Letter
Published: Friday, June 01, 2007

Re: "Beagles flown to labs for testing" (Gazette, May 29).

I am a post-graduate student carrying out medical research and it makes me irate to hear people criticize the use of animals for medical research purposes (usually on cuter animals, with which people sympathize more than with mice or rats).

Many people believe it is barbaric and inhumane, and they do not hold the people who do this kind of work in very high esteem.
I, and many people I know, have worked using animal models. I don't know anyone who enjoys experimenting on animals, but we accept that it is a means to an end.

People should understand that a synthetic or an in vitro environment can help us understand a disease/biological process/potential therapy only up to a certain point. Live subjects must validate any observation made in a culture dish.

Would critics who think using animals for research is terrible prefer testing a drug on a dog or on a human?

When they take a pain-killer, or receive cancer treatment - or take any medication - they should acknowledge these drugs had to be tested on animals to make sure they were efficient and safe.

Or would they prefer to trade in therapies for the elimination of animal testing?

Michelle D'Antoni

Kirkland