Demonstrations by animal rights activists are unfortunately nothing new, but there was an interesting demonstration last weekend in Oxford, UK. This one also had lots of placard waving about animal research, catchy slogans, and yes, a strong police presence. The message however was very different: this was actually a demonstration in favor of animal testing.
Hundreds of people marched in support of a new biomedical lab, set to be built in the University of Oxford’s Science area. Work on the facility has been set back because of threats from animal rights activist, and protests against the lab are a familiar sight for anyone who lives and works in Oxford. But this is the first time that there has been a demonstration in favor of the lab, and it is being seen as a reaction to growing indignation over the extreme tactics being used by some animal rights activists.
Most interestingly, this demonstration was not organized by scientists, but by a 16 year old student, Laurie Pycroft, who was unhappy with the one-sided public debate on this issue. He created a research advocacy website catchily called Pro-test, and went on to organize the march. Though there were plenty of scientists who spoke at the demonstration (as well as the local member of parliament), the mobilizing force behind this march seem not to be scientists. Animal rights activists have been far more successful in arguing their case to the general public, and this is partly because few researchers want to risk the kind of concentrated campaigns which have been carried out against the handful of researchers who have spoken for animal research (and Laurie himself is now a target ). Groups like Pro-test suggest that some of the messages from the scientific community are getting through, and the chance for a more open debate is welcomed.
