Vivisection
Sir: John Linklater's article ' Poor vivisected doggy,' (November 3) is one of the most biased articles I have seen for a very long time on a controversial moral issue. The article will do little harm to the anti-vivisection cause but will, I think, seriously damage the pro-vivisection case which Dr Linklater was so obviously endeavouring to espouse. Dr Linklater accuses anti-vivisectionists of exploiting emotion and misinterpreting facts yet he is guilty throughout his article of both these failings. He states, for example, that "the vast majority of the much publicised six million animals are not mammals, but from the lower orders of frogs, fish, flat worms and other crawlies." In fact, the Home Office Annual Return of Experiments on Living Animals, reporting experiments performed under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876, does not include any experiments on inverteb:ates. The total of over five million experiments were performed mainly on rata and mice — 85 per cent, guinea pigs — 10 per cent and all other species 5 per cent, the total number of cats and dogs being about 0.5 per cent of the total.
Dr. Linklater himself makes the obvious, but not thought out point that very few experiments are performed on cats and dogs, and 0.5 per cent does appear to be a minute percentage until it is related to five million experiments, when the actual number of cats and dogs is found to be about thirty thousand animals per annum.
It is stated that research projects are never described in anti-vivisection literature. This Society's annual report almost invariably describes the purpose of research projects mentioned and all sources of reference are included. No mention is made in the article that almost 50 per cent of all experiments performed in Britain are not concerned with medical research (Laboratory News, July 24), Finally, Dr Linklater should take serious note that anti-vivisection societies include among their members, doctors, nurses, biology teachers and scientists from all disciplines. A letter to the Oxford Times as recently as September this year written by a scientist state4 "There are many of us and our numbers are rapidly increasing who are very disturbed about the cruelty inflicted on animals behind laboratory walls."
Clive Hollands Secretary, Scottish Society for the Prevention of Vivisection, 10 Queens.
ferryStreet, Edinburgh •
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