SPEAK are claiming a good turnout for their day of action against Vodafone. Surprise surprise. One man and a dog would be a triumph for SPEAK!

Well I went to my local Vodafone store and there wasn’t a protestor in sight. SPEAK claim “not one negative comment was received”. No surprise this time. I imagine people have got better things to do than invite a torrent of abuse from aggressive animal rights campaigners! 

It amuses me to see how some animal rights groups are apparently not aware how ridiculous their anti-violence statements are. SHAC is a good example. On the SHAC website they celebrate the dreadful harassment of the company in the last couple of years, by their own supporters. Here they also publish contact details of employees, suppliers, customers etc and encourage people to take direct action. And then they distance themselves using “weasel words” (a word used to deprive a statement of its force or evade a direct commitment, according to the dictionary). Thus on the site this “disclaimer” ... “Please note that SHAC does not encourage or incite illegal activities”.

You may think that university students are a hotbed of animal rights activity. Not so, it seems. There could be few places where the debate about the use of animals in research is more polarised than at Oxford University. Yet a new opinion poll of the students has shown considerable support for animal research and the building of the new research centre. I suspect the same is true of local residents, who are heartily sick of the antics of the antis.

RDS debates the use of animals in medical research at many universities. We have found very strong support from students. This is not just from science students, but from many other faculties too. On November 11th the anti-vivisection opposition in a debate on animal testing at Durham University were soundly trounced. The motion was carried overwhelmingly. Long live student debates!

I was pleased to hear about ‘posh’ Jan Lawrence’s sentence earlier this month – and even more pleased when I saw that the ALF has posted her prison address for all to see on their website. Although the idea is to encourage fellow fundamentalist fanatics to write letters of support to her, I can only hope that her victims, and others disgusted by her obscene behaviour, use this opportunity to write to her expressing their opinions of her actions - although perhaps not using her own threatening and malicious missives as inspiration (example below).

"You are a sick, evil, perverted deviant. You are now a legitimate and priority ALF target. The animal rights militia exists just for filthy, animal-abusing scum like you. You have been warned."

The Daily Telegraph - 4th Nov 2005

RDS shares the concerns of many that there should not be unnecessary animal testing as a result of the new EU chemicals testing proposals. So we were not surprised that the latest mail-shot from the National Anti Vivisection Society (NAVS) was all about these proposals.  NAVS claims they could mean a massive increase in animal testing.

Hang on a minute. Is this the same NAVS that was claiming just five years ago in their Summer 2000 newsletter that “the days of animal experimentation are numbered”?  So which is it, numbered days for animal experiments, or a massive increase? Probably neither. Only time will tell. But you obviously don’t need to be politically astute to work at NAVS.

Their sister organisation the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) fares little better. Fifteen years ago in their newsletter Liberator they proposed targets to eliminate animal experiments by 2003. BUAV claimed that their ultimate objective of the abolition of vivisection “is at least within our sights.” But only last year they were complaining about “the largest number of animal experiments in the UK since 1994". Perhaps NAVS and BUAV should compare notes?

The current tested on guinea pigs adverts by the online bank Egg are funny – not a belly laugh, but they really make me smile.  See Adland ad-rag.com. I think they show that ordinary people, and the advertisers, can accept that “testing on guinea pigs” is a routine activity and not something to get agitated about. Yes, they anthropomorphise animals and raise a cheap laugh at their expense, but then so do a lot of cartoons.

A spokesperson for Egg said:

"Egg has a tradition of creating ‘edgy’ adverts and our guinea pigs campaign is no different. 

“The central idea behind the campaign is that Egg has launched a revolutionary new product that has not existed before. The guinea pigs are used to try to get across the new and experimental side of Egg Money. 

“The adverts are clearly tongue-in-cheek, with guinea pigs simply representing a metaphor of human behaviour and attitudes with reference to money.  The adverts are not intended as a statement on animal testing. 

“The images of the guinea pigs are clearly mocked-up and at no point were any animals were harmed in the making of the adverts.  In fact the adverts were filmed using actors wearing specially constructed guinea-pig body suits with custom made clothes. They were trained and choreographed by an expert in animal movement, to give them the correct body articulation associated with guinea-pigs. The heads of real guinea pigs were filmed later, to match with the movements of the actors; these were then combined in post-production with the bodies.

“We are sorry if the adverts offend anyone this is not our intention."

It’s interesting that Egg feel the need to defend the ads, even though there have not been any complaints. Given the antivivisectionists’ frequent sense-of-humour failures – for instance they protested strongly about the satirical cartoon series I Am Not An Animal – a whole slew of complaints would have come as no surprise. What is rather surprising is that “RSPCA were fully involved in all the filming”.

Penn & Teller, in their own inimitable style, have dished the dirt on People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in a short video. Nothing is off-limits: they joke about the unhealthy appearance of vegans (skeletal and pasty), and are astonished that PeTA kills dogs and cats (apparently they killed two thirds of the 2,100 dogs and cats they “rescued” in 2002, see also petakillsanimals). Not least, they expose one of PeTA’s leaders as an insulin dependent diabetic who seeks to prevent others benefiting from future medical advances, by trying to abolish animal research.

PeTA would outlaw fishing, circuses, dog shows, horse riding, zoos, pets and guide dogs for the blind: their goal is “total animal liberation” says Ingrid Newkirk, PeTA’s leader. Penn and Teller say “life isn’t Disney bull***t where lions, pigs and meerkats hang out together and sing songs”. This is the milder stuff from the leather-wearing, chicken-chomping duo. They are blunt, crude, funny but still make some serious points about the hypocrisy of those that champion animal rights.

See whether it makes you laugh, cry or shout. The whole 15 minutes is here. Pity it’s an “adult” site.

So when exactly is work going to start again on the research facility at Oxford University? For us at RDS the wait is frustrating enough.  For the researchers, students and other staff at Oxford University, it must seem interminable. 

We should be proud of the international quality of research carried out at our universities in the UK. Oxford and Cambridge have recently risen to third and fourth in the rankings of international research quality.  However, Cambridge University was forced to shelve plans for its neuroscience centre last year, partly as a result of animal rights extremism. 

The empty shell of the uncompleted building at Oxford stands as an international symbol of the government commitment to defeating animal rights extremism.  We cannot to lose this one.  RDS is totally supportive of the University in its plans to get building work restarted.

RDS has had plenty of opportunity to debate the merits of animal research with antivivisection groups.  None is more fanatical than the absurdly named Europeans for Medical Progress (EMP).  This group claim to have a ‘scientific’ critique of the use of animals in research. They usually open their debates by stating that they have no animal rights agenda.  Strange then, that their Director, Kathy Archibald, worked for the animal rights organisation Animal Aid before moving to EMP.  The group has a new alpha male, Jarrod Bailey, who appears to have ejected the old leader, Ray Greek.  The devout followers who turn up to the debates are all women!

Spokesman Bailey has had to admit that he is not an expert in every field of research.  That’s a relief.  Presumably there is a good explanation for his CV where he claims to have pursued a career in non-animal research methods, but gives his only area of expertise as animal experimentation!

Bailey claims that if he looked at any area of research he is confident that he could demonstrate that animals did not play a useful role.  This kind of deeply held faith, without supporting evidence, is the hallmark of religious belief, and the antithesis of a scientific approach.  No wonder it has proved impossible to have any meaningful debate with this strange organisation.

Why is it that animal rights extremists seem to get such a kick out of digging up graves?  It can’t be a very pleasant activity. 

When asked to defend or justify these actions in the media, the extremists often claim that no harm was done!  There can be few better examples of how hopelessly out of touch with society these anarchists are. 

Let’s hope we get to see a few more extremists behind bars in the next year or so.  They can do all the digging they want in there!