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For info about biomedical funding, animal research and other bioscience issues, click here.
Legislation Watch
So-called "Pet Safety Bills" don't protect pets but they do pose a threat to medical research. More information
Science Policy Announcements
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Resource Book Now Available
Click here for more info on The APS Resource Book for the Design of Animal Exercise Protocols.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Supports Dog Labs
Update >> Students of the Medical College of Wisconsin have written an article published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel supporting the MCW's physiology dog lab.
Less than a week after publishing a front page story critical of the Medical College of Wisconsin's physiology dog lab, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel took an editorial position in support of the labs as an educational tool. A letter from the APS President-elect Hannah V. Carey and the Society Education Committee Chair, Robert G. Carroll appeared in the Journal Sentinel the same day. Their letter praised MCW's "commitment to the highest quality medical education." Making note of the dwindling number of hands-on learning experiences in physiology classes today, Carey and Carroll lauded the MCW for continuing to offer what they called a "valuable educational experience."
The Journal Sentinel editorial relied in part on the APS position statement on animals in education. While acknowledging the arguments made by opponents to the lab, the editorial said that those who support the lab make "a stronger case."
The earlier article primarily based its analysis on information from the inaccurately- named Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). In reality only a small fraction of PCRM's members are actually physicians. The group has received substantial financial support from the animal rights group PETA in the past and consistently takes positions objecting to the use of animals in research or education.
After the original article appeared, representatives of MCW contacted the newspaper's editorial board and brought to their attention the resources APS has developed on the educational value of animal labs. The resulting editorial expressed the view that the animal laboratory exercise provided "the kind of firsthand experience [students] could not get by using other techniques." The editorial also noted that cost, not usefulness, has been the primary reason many other medical schools have stopped offering dog labs.
Although the MCW dog lab is voluntary, over 90% of students consistently participate in the exercise. One student interviewed in the original article described as invaluable the opportunity to experience first hand "the force required to move blood around the body."
An earlier article on dog labs at UCSD, can be found here.
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