Author: jplucas

Rep. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Madison, said the plan was “necessary if the United States is to maintain a leadership role in technology and grow our economy in the 21st century.”

Baldwin said that “if the Congress adopts this agenda, both the UW-Madison and area businesses will surely benefit from increased federal support for research and development in alternative energy sources, high speed communications and biotechnology.” The University of Wisconsin-Madison was the fourth-biggest research institution in the country in fiscal 2003, according to National Science Foundation figures.

The Wisconsin State Journal’s Nov. 4 editorial “Extreme tactics miss the mark” is what misses the mark. The extreme tactics are not being perpetrated by animal rights activists; the extreme tactics are being perpetrated by the rest of us.

Animal rights activists have done little to evaluate the merit of research being done at our university, indicated by distortions in public statements. People who use animals for biological research are harassed, regardless of whether they have done anything reprehensible.

I participated in the recent demonstrations against the primate experiments at the UW. I was approached by many neighbors and passers-by who shared their experiences with me, involving the animal experimentation industry.

Thanks to the Wisconsin State Journal for their balanced coverage of the recent protests. Too often the tactics of these groups, which include harassment, threats and property destruction, are underreported. The best way to expose the extremism of these groups is to fairly and openly document their methods.

Activist Rick Bogle, in his Monday guest column, claims the UW stifles debate about animal research. His contention is easy to refute. As the chairman of the All Campus Animal Care and Use Committee, the oversight body for animal use at UW-Madison, I have been working to establish contact with animal activists to find common ground, improve research animal welfare and enhance public understanding.

A generation ago, childhood cancer was considered a death sentence. Now, through research, approximately 75 percent of children with cancer in the U.S. are being cured. Still, we need to provide more effective and less toxic treatments.
This means testing. Some research can be done by computer modeling and in test tubes. However, any experimental treatment being considered for clinical testing must first demonstrate conclusive anticancer effects without causing “side effects” that outweigh the anti-tumor benefits, which still can only be done by involving laboratory animals that have cancer, most often mice.

SCIENCE has always fascinated me. As a child in Tibet, I was keenly curious about how things worked. When I got a toy I would play with it a bit, then take it apart to see how it was put together. As I became older, I applied the same scrutiny to a movie projector and an antique automobile.