Review in Profane Existence, Minneapolis, USA, No. 21, January-February 1994, of ANIMAL RESEARCH T A K E S LIVES - Humans and Animals BOTH Suffer.
"The usual thing people expect to read when they pick up a book arguing against vivisection is lots of philosophical debate and moralizing about the rights of animals (or even the pro-vivisection 'utilitarianism' of supposed 'animal rights' gurus like Peter Singer). While having concern about cruelty to animals is good, such talk is not the subject matter of this book, which hits with the most important and strong argument against vivisection - that it is a scientifically and medically fraudulent practice. Vivisection will never be abolished on moral grounds alone as long as the vivisection industry (and Peter Singer) keep feeding the public with the myth that experiments on animals are necessary for human health.
The title of the book and its content is a direct challenge and rebuttal to a booklet circulated to all schools and libraries in New Zealand called Animal Research Saves Lives, which was funded by the vivisection industry and the New Zealand government. The booklet made a lot of sweeping statements regarding vivisection and human health, none of it backed up with any evidence. Overell's book takes every claim made in ARSL and pulls them to bits in each chapter using medical evidence and information from medical experts in every field. It contains quotes and writings from these experts, medical journals and even the vivisectors themselves! To quote Dr Paul Carrao, speaking on 13 years of head injury experiments on primates at the University of Pennsylvania, where he worked: 'I just know what the literature shows, and I know what the results were, and I challenge anybody to show that any of that has advanced the cause or treatment of human head injury one iota' (page 254).
The book reports not merely on the inconclusive reports of some experiments such as the above example, but also on the many disasters vivisection has created like cancer caused by Diethylstilbestrol, the 25 million reported cases of a disease called Tardive Dyskenesia caused by La Gactil, and the fact that once many vivisection-derived drugs are banned in First World countries, they are dumped on the Third World markets to reap more profits for their creators.
ARTL points out the profit-motive being the driving force behind the vivisection industry, as 'testing' drugs on animals is the cheapest way to fulfill legal safety requirements. Brewster Ashley, Director of the Therapeutic Goods Administration Drug Evaluation Branch (Australia) underlines this when he is quoted on page 292 saying 'We have to remember that the main aim of pharmaceutical companies is not to make drugs for the good of mankind, but to make profits for their shareholders'.
You won't find very many shocking pictures of animals in labs in this book as we've seen more than enough of them, but instead there are easy to understand diagrams and charts to back up the overall message that vivisection is a crime against humanity and the animals in the labs, something a lot of anti-vivisection groups don't stress enough.
I recommend this book to people who want to know more about the scientific arguments against vivisection - it will certainly give you plenty to say next time someone says 'I hate cruelty to animals, but if we want to find a cure for cancer...'. Also worth checking out is Hans Ruesch's Slaughter of the Innocent which you can probably find at your local library. (Ross)"
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ANIMAL RESEARCH T A K E S LIVES - Humans and Animals BOTH Suffer