Demo backs animal lab in Oxford
Proponents of animal testing out in force for first time at rally
Attitudes to the Uses of Animals in Higher Education: Has Anything Changed?
Abstract Bioscience staff and students at Glasgow University in session 2005–06 were questioned on their attitudes to animal uses in higher education, as follow-up to a similar survey 20 years before. Disapproval by students of animal use was generally reduced compared to 20 years ago, but students remained in a ‘moral bind’, recognising the interest and educational value of animal uses such as dissection, while disapproving of killing animals for this purpose. Staff strongly rejected the proposition that animal use such as dissection de-sensitises students: students also rejected this, but less strongly. Both staff and students recognised that students did become more willing to use animals as they progressed, but attributed this not to desensitisation but to a better understanding of the values of animal experimentation. Final year students were more aware than first years concerning the ethical standards required of experiments on humans, and generally, final year students showed development/ progression in ethical sensitivity, compared to first years. Staff and students agreed on the value of ethics coverage in bioscience degree programmes, similar to findings 20 years before.
UK panel urges animal researchers to go public
Scientific openness may defuse general disapproval.