The strong opposition to animal research comes from some sections of the anti-vivisection movement.

This movement believes medical research using animals is "a scientific fraud", despite all the evidence to the contrary.  Its members also believe humans and animals have equal rights.

In contrast to animal welfarists who accept that animals may be used for human benefit, so long as they are treated humanely, anti-vivisectionists and other animal rightists do not.

Some anti-vivisectionists argue that to hold animals in captivity for research, farming or other human benefit is immoral.  They are opposed to the use of animals and animal products for food, clothing or other purposes.

Their philosophy is not new.  Anti-vivisectionists opposed Louis Pasteur's vaccine for rabies last century, because it involved animals.

They also campaigned against the introduction of the first effective diphtheria vaccine to Britain in the 1930s.  This was at a time when every year thousands of British children were dying unnecessarily in the agony which is part of this horrific disease.  Since the introduction of the vaccine, diphtheria has all but disappeared.

Whether you agree or not with the anti-vivisection philosophy is a matter of personal choice.  But before choosing, it is important to understand the difference between animal welfare and animal rights and what this means for all of us.

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