
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, May 14, 1990                   TAG: 9005140176
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PEOPLE WHO USE ANIMALS HAVE A DUTY TO THEM

PAXTON Davis ("Animal rights' zealots would hinder research" May 4) ascribes the beliefs and practices of a small minority of activists to all animal-rights advocates. Most who use the term "animal rights" do not equate these to human rights. We do not oppose using animals to fill human needs. Many of us are not vegetarians; most accept the need for some use of animals in medical research.

However, if man's needs take precedence over those of other species, he must accept the responsibilities as well as the privileges of his position. Yes, other species do have "rights." Laboratory and farm animals have a right to clean quarters and adequte food and water, and to anesthesia when used in painful experiments. If we use animals to fill our needs, we have an obligation to meet their needs in return.

Most proponents of the ethical treatment of animals seek to eliminate unnecessary, or non-medical, animal experiments. Unfortunately, most laboratory animals are used not in medical research, but in the development of cosmetics and household chemicals. While these products may make hair more manageable or housework easier, they hardly rank as essential on the scale of human need.

The benefits of medical research were achieved through the sacrifice of millions of animal lives. We owe these fellow creatures a large debt of gratitude, and those who want to spare them unnecessary suffering do not deserve to be compared to "flat-earth people" who "can't get their heads on right."

\ PEGGY S. MORGAN\ BLACKSBURG

by CNB