rationalskepticism.org

CRasch wrote:I wonder how many PETA and ALF supporters actually gone though a medical trial?

What does the "gone through a medical trial" mean? Does it mean to actually take part, or to walk through a lab and oversee what's going on?

If the former, then I agree with Mick that it's irrelevant to their position. If the latter, then I would agree that it's a useful thing to do and I think many people's opinion on animal research would change if they walked through a lab. The problem is that what most people know of "animal research" is undercover video 'evidence' from some shitty little lab in Mexico, which is usually under investigation from the authorities and currently shunned by the scientific community.

Mick wrote:I recently read something from a psychologist who said that the Animal Welfare Act excludes mice, rats and birds as beings which fall under what is understood as animals. If this is true, then I have a whole new hostility towards the animal experimentation lobbyists and politicans responsible for this abuse.

This is in America, and it's true - but not in the way you seem to be imagining. The AWA now currently excludes laboratory mice, rats and birds. The 'laboratory' part is important because this means that excluding them from the AWA does not mean that they aren't protected by welfare laws and institutes. The health and well-being of these animals are covered by multiple other laws, and are overseen by other groups like the National Institutes of Health, the Association for Assessment, Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, as well as local ethics boards and committees. The reason why the law was changed to exclude laboratory animals was because the law introduced extra costs and complicating inapplicable guidelines that added nothing to the health or well-being of the animals.

I just think it's important to keep in mind that keeping laboratory animals healthy and happy is the prime concern of all serious researchers. This is partly because most people who work in labs are animal lovers and don't want to see an animal suffer, but there's also the pragmatic reason that if your animals are not happy and healthy, then your scientific results are useless and you have to throw out the last few months/years of work. The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of lab animals are far happier and healthier than the average household pet - this is due to the rigorousness of scientific research which requires them to be so, as well as the fact that the laws that require us to ensure the welfare of the lab animals are more strictly enforced than pet welfare laws.