Tag Archives: animal testing

Opinion: The Liberal Democrats must support biomedical research

By Tom Holder | Fri 15th August 2014 - 4:42 pm

Norman Baker has stated he wants to ban animal research in the UK.

Recently, the first successful Ebola treatment to be used on humans was developed thanks to research in monkeys by combining three monoclonal antibodies which had been harvested from mice. With 1,000 people dead, 2,000 sick, four countries affected, and tens of thousands at risk, this treatment could become a game changer.

But Norman Baker wants to ban animal research in the UK.

Thanks to animal research conducted in the UK, we …

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The Independent View: Norman Baker’s move to cutting edge science will benefit Britain

By Jan Creamer | Sun 10th August 2014 - 9:00 am

Norman Baker’s calls for an end to animal testing were dismissed as “short sighted” in Alasdair Hill’s Lib Dem Voice article (‘Why a ban on animal testing is short-sighted and bad for our knowledge-based economy’).

But the comments made by the Liberal Democrats’ Home Office Minister are welcomed by the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) which has long championed moves towards modern science, benefiting humans and animals alike. However, progress away from animal tests will falter while researchers are working within an outdated system that hinders scientific progress and keeps animal experiments hidden from public scrutiny.

Opinion: Why a ban on animal testing is short-sighted and bad for our knowledge-based economy

By Alasdair Hill | Tue 5th August 2014 - 12:12 pm

Last week the BBC reported on a piece of potential Lib Dem policy that was picked up by Lib Dem Voice yesterday; Norman Baker’s desire to ban all animal testing. Now the spurious use of animals with scant regard for animal welfare is of course wrong but an outright ban on this practise shows a lack of understanding of the use of animals in the first place.

Medical research needs animal testing. Norman Baker MP is absolutely correct in that we should be using alternative techniques where they exist and develop them so they can be used in the future. However when testing new drugs there is no way round testing the toxicity and efficacy in animals. Cell-based techniques cannot be used as a complete substitute because we need to see the effects of medicine against a whole organism; the success and dangers of drugs depends on a whole suite of systems and complex biological relationships that can only be seen using whole-organism models. I certainly wouldn’t want to give an experimental drug to human volunteers before it has been tested in animals.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged featured and norman baker | 22 Comments