Standing outside the mostly completed Oxford research building on Thursdays are a group of protesters (this being Oxford we should say they are against the use of animals!).

Despite the assertions of animal activists that the Serious and Organised Crime Act would ‘muzzle legitimate process’ this has clearly not happened -protests continued.  But it was fallacy that this new law would stifle protest for another reason; there were many more serious crimes being performed by extremists and the recent arrests were for offences such as blackmail. The Speak protesters do look somewhat forlorn; rather like a group of old communists in Red Square protesting for the ‘good old days’

So where is debate in Oxford? For this we have VERO. Despite all the great minds of Oxford at a recent meeting with the University VERO had to wheel out Gill Langley (Dr Hadwen Trust/consultant to BUAV) – a Cambridge graduate of all things! 

Interestingly VERO (or Gill Langley) did not appear to be in the middle ground of the debate. They did not wish to discuss the 3Rs, which the Nuffield Council for Bioethics says should form the core of debate in this area. When VERO/Gill Langley were challenged by Oxford scientists that more animal research might result from tighter regulations on the use of human tissue they had no answer. This might be because BUAV’s approach for animal research is more regulation to impede science (and as science leads to the 3Rs these as well) and so even it realises the dangers of suggesting more regulation on animal than human tissue research!

In any case VERO/BUAV appear now to be on the fringes even of debate in this area.