In the April 17, 1989, edition of The Scientist ("Association Briefs,” page 8), the Scientists Center for Animal Welfare (SCAW) is described as “the only group devoted exclusively to the care and treatment of lab animals.” Far from the truth, SCAW and its medical counterpart— “Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine”—are using scientists’ true concem for animals in research to dominate and even destroy biological research by advocating increasingly repressive, costly, and unnecessary controls. They mix rules for legitimate surveillance of animal welfare with recommendations for oppressive rules and regulations that will certainly serve to smother exploration, discovery, creativity, and advances in medical research. After 50 years of research (and living through the McCarthy era), I must say that the way in which the animal rights movement is progressing is the greatest threat to scientific research and freedom I have ever witnessed.
Accepting membership of SCAW in AAAS is like injecting ...
