VERO supporter on Pro-Test
Dear Sir,
The creation of VERO is a positive step in the debate over the animal lab. For the first time it seems that there is an organisation in Oxford which ethically-minded students can join to express their revulsion for humanity’s brutal use of animals. Pro-Test’s denunciation of the organisation (to which your publication seems to give undue emphasis) is unfounded.
Pro-Test itself is a pressure group formed to gain ‘media attention’ so it seems short-sighted to ridicule another group for trying to give a voice to students. Also, the lack of scientists in the organisation in no way undermines their position; it strengthens it. VERO’s is an ethical stand, one based on minimising harm.
Pro-Test’s unqualified support for animal testing is support for a practice that will harm 3 million animals a year in the UK alone, with only a small percentage of those tests ever leading to any advance in medical knowledge.
Tom Lowe Oxford Green Party Students
11th Oct 2006