The People’s Petition, brainchild of IT worker David Taylor, is a great way for the hitherto silent majority to stand up and be counted on animal research. Given that opinion polls show that three quarters of us acccept the need to use animals in medical research, I hope thousands and millions will sign. I’m proud to say that I was one of the first to sign. When I last looked (at about 10am) the count had gone up to 1854, and it only went live at midnight. I expect most will vote anonymously, but already there are dozens of supportive comments on the site. Here’s a random sample:

"It’s great to see that the silent, educated majority is making its voice heard - the tiny extremist minority has had too loud a voice for too long...”
Posted by: Nick Meade, London

“It is really refreshing to be able to positively support such an important cause for human and animal welfare.”
Posted by: Trish Loakes, Huntingdon

“Ethical animal experimentation is essential for the development of new, safe drugs to alleviate the diseases that afflict man globally.”
Posted by: Chris Snell, Norfolk

“I think this is a great idea. I get fed up with ARA activists declaring that they represent the peoples view, and its about time the people had the opportunity to actually voice their opinion.”
Posted by: Jimmy, Halesworth

There’s a great article about The People’s Petition in The Guardian today, and I heard heart consultant Professor John Martin supporting it on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme at about 7.15am this morning.