Comments on: Dogs and Cats in Medical Research https://gregladen.com/blog/2009/10/29/dogs-and-cats-in-medical-resea/ Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:02:39 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.8 By: Gourav https://gregladen.com/blog/2009/10/29/dogs-and-cats-in-medical-resea/#comment-549865 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:02:39 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/10/29/dogs-and-cats-in-medical-resea/#comment-549865 tell me, where does animal research become “sick”? Is it with bacteria? fruit flies? beetles? mice? pigs? cats? How cute and fuzzy does an animal have to be before an experiment becomes “sick and twisted”?

]]> By: becca https://gregladen.com/blog/2009/10/29/dogs-and-cats-in-medical-resea/#comment-549864 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:22:28 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/10/29/dogs-and-cats-in-medical-resea/#comment-549864 Bacteria are not animals!!!
But humans are. So if he had a point, experimenting on him wouldn’t address it. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure if he actually volunteered for a few studies he’d realize how healthy and straightforward most of them are.

]]> By: Alcari https://gregladen.com/blog/2009/10/29/dogs-and-cats-in-medical-resea/#comment-549863 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:21:39 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/10/29/dogs-and-cats-in-medical-resea/#comment-549863 @Douglas,

You’re free to volunteer in place of a test animal. In fact, if everyone who though that would volunteer, I’m sure it would safe lots of poor innocent animals and still produce vital medical research that will go on to safe millions of poor innocent human beings.

So tell me, where does animal research become “sick”? Is it with bacteria? fruitflies? beetles? mice? pigs? cats? How cute and fuzzy does an animal have to be before an experiment becomes “sick and twisted”?

]]> By: Claire https://gregladen.com/blog/2009/10/29/dogs-and-cats-in-medical-resea/#comment-549862 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:18:34 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/10/29/dogs-and-cats-in-medical-resea/#comment-549862 The term “random” is very much a poor choice in terminology on the part of USDA, but does not mean “any old place,” nor, as animal rights folks would have us believe “from your backyard.” There are very specific regulations on where Class B dealers can get their animals, outlined on page 52 of this doc: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_welfare/downloads/awr/awr.pdf.

@Bruce, about 17 (some rather research-intense) states and many, many more municipalities specifically ban the release of pound/shelter animals for research even though those animals are just going to be euthanized anyway. What you recommend is basically what Class B dealers do–they get animals from shelters where they can and from hunt clubs and provide them to researchers.

Congress has been debating this issue for years. It was Congress that directed NIH to commission the NAS study.

]]> By: Douglas Watts https://gregladen.com/blog/2009/10/29/dogs-and-cats-in-medical-resea/#comment-549861 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:55:25 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/10/29/dogs-and-cats-in-medical-resea/#comment-549861 Animal experimentation is sick and twisted.

]]> By: Paul D. https://gregladen.com/blog/2009/10/29/dogs-and-cats-in-medical-resea/#comment-549860 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:09:06 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/10/29/dogs-and-cats-in-medical-resea/#comment-549860 Bruce: It sounds like that is what they are already doing. I take “Random dogs and cats” to be a euphemism. This is a gues, however.

]]> By: BruceH https://gregladen.com/blog/2009/10/29/dogs-and-cats-in-medical-resea/#comment-549859 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:06:35 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/10/29/dogs-and-cats-in-medical-resea/#comment-549859 Leaving aside the political implications, I have to wonder about the very real problem of stray/feral cats and dogs in this country. Couldn’t some agency somewhere be tasked with rounding up some these animals and culling some for research? Or is this already done.

]]> By: NewEnglandBob https://gregladen.com/blog/2009/10/29/dogs-and-cats-in-medical-resea/#comment-549858 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:18:44 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/10/29/dogs-and-cats-in-medical-resea/#comment-549858 This is a tough one. I have no clue as to how to proceed.

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