Scientists Brace for Animal Activism

Scientists Brace for Animal Activism Legal and illegal animal rights actions continue Animal rights activists will not go away, and researchers must prepare to be targeted, according to three scientists whose organizations have developed guidelines for responding to this movement. Animal rights campaigners are taking a long-term view in their crusade to end all human use of animals and scientists need to be aware of their own vulnerability, the scientists say. Lobbyists are already pursuing legal avenues to extend rights once reserved for humans to other animals and are meeting with some success. "We should all keep in mind that [the work of animal rights groups] is not directed toward the welfare of animals," says Stephen Zola, director of the Yerkes Primate Research Center at Emory University, Atlanta. "It's toward the abolition of the use of animals in any domain." WHAT TWO ACTIVISTS SAY 1. Be honest: "I'd advise [scientists] to not just give lip service to the fact that they are concerned about animal pain and stress and demonstrate their commitment to removing it," says Andrew Rowan, chief of staff, the Humane Society of USA. 2. Create a dialog: "[Some researchers] characterize ...opponents as evil, misinformed or ignorant and then ignore them," Rowan continues. [Scientists] are supposed to be interested in scholarly debate." 3. Compromise: "Frankly I think the answer is to be open and to be willing to change," says Andrew Butler, campaign coordinator of PETA. "There is such resistance to even the most moderate changes to improve the lot for animals." Andrew Butler, campaign coordinator at PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), says researchers' failure to compromise drives activists to extremes. A biotechnology company that used beagles for research recently refused PETA's request to release the dogs when the project was complete, for example. "I think that is the sort of behavior that leads people to act and campaign against these sorts of organizations," Butler says, adding that PETA mounted 48 separate demonstrations against the company. Establishing the legal standing of animals is an objective of some groups, and last June, Germany changed its constitution to guarantee certain animals' rights, making it the first European country to do so. Trends in animal rights generally start in Europe and shift to the United States, according to Frankie Trull, president of the National Association for Biomedical Research. Legal standing usually gives a person a right to sue when directly injured by another party. The US courts have recently softened standing requirements, says Stephen Michael, vice president of Policy Directions Inc., which lobbies for the biomedical research community. If activists gain standing, they may be able to sue research organizations, rather than the federal agency that regulates animal use. Animal rights groups are growing bolder in advancing "ideas once considered radical," Michael says. The Humane Society of the United States has, for instance, called for the elimination of animal pain and distress as a result of research by 2020. Robert R. Rich, executive associate dean at Emory, maintains that this goal is "not realistic as long as human disease involves pain and distress." But Andrew Rowan, chief of staff for the Humane Society of the United States, urges scientists to negotiate with activists to create regulations that protect both animals and science. "What one needs here is some careful and intensive, scientific, and scholarly discussion about what we understand by animal pain, ... how we can detect it, and what we can do to eliminate it," Rowan says. --Mildred Leinweber Dawson (mildred808@cfl.rr.com) is a freelance writer in Orlando, Fla.; Paula Park and Brendan A. Maher can be contacted at ppark@the-scientist.com and bmaher@the-scientist.com, respectively. BUILD SHIELDS FROM ACTIVISTS A group of protestors targeted Stuart Zola even before he arrived in Atlanta to direct the Yerkes Primate Research Center at Emory University. Billboards and leaflets decried him as a "torturer." Zola is not alone. The National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR) reported 190 "illegal" incidents from 1981 to 2002 ranging from trespassing to arson, including 21 in 2001, the year with the highest number of reports. Andrew Butler, campaign coordinator of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), says members also infiltrate labs to check on animal treatment. Zola, who fought back successfully from demonstrations against him, recommends these steps: 1. Build a strong base of support: Determine where your department chair, dean, and other institutional leaders stand on animal rights, and educate them. Inform students and the public about your research. "We can be excited about our work. It leads to treatments and cures," Zola says. "Educating the institution's public relations staff is critical. They can serve as the firewall between the media and you." Build support among lawmakers as well. Write and call them; request meetings. "A targeted researcher cannot effectively defend himself and must have enlisted a respected colleague or colleagues in advance to speak out in support of the ethical nature of the researcher and the decency of the researcher," says David Amaral, who chairs a Society for Neuroscience committee on animal research. 2. Find out if your institution has a formal policy regarding activism: Many institutions have none, while others have come out squarely in support of their research-ers. "Emory sees an attack on the National Primate Center as an attack on Emory," Zola relates. 3. Hire cautiously: Animal rights activists strive to infiltrate labs, so consider asking your institution to do background checks on new lab staff. At minimum, engage a prospective employee in a conversation about animal rights. Involve your institution in the NABR, which advocates for scientists on biomedical research.

Scientists Brace for Animal Activism

Scientists Brace for Animal Activism

Legal and illegal animal rights actions continue

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