Biting back at animal activists

In January, several Oxford University undergraduates formed a group, called Pro-Test to support the use of laboratory animals in biomedical research. They were inspired by a local 16-year-old high-school student, Laurie Pycroft, who had decided to challenge the hundreds of protestors regularly demonstrating against the university's plans to build an animal-testing facility on campus. Less than a year after its formation, Pro-Test is being credited by the UK media for turning the tide of public opinion in favor of animal testing. "There's been a real sea change," says Pro-Test spokesperson Iain Simpson, a 19-year-old second-year student in politics, philosophy, and economics at Oxford. "A year ago, not one medical research charity would make a public statement about animal research. Now more than 100 UK medical research charities have statements in support of animal research on their Web sites."