V w w w ANIMALS Continued from Page 7 None of the animal researchers interviewed by the Daily said they have had any confrontations with opponents of their work. Yocum said he has never seen any protest of the use of animals in research in his 13 years at Michigan. Becker said she has'seen protests at conferences she has attended, but never here. Price said that when the University receives objections to using animals in research, he sends a letter explaining University policies. "We don't think it would be appropriate to stop, as some people have requested." There are no anti-vivisectionist groups registered with the Michigan Student Assembly. But scientists say they are concerned about opponents of animal research an the strength their groups have. Physiology Prof. Richard Mal- vin is very worried about the efforts of groups to do away with animal research, and is a vocal opponent of those efforts. Malvin said he, unlike the other researchers, has been harrassed. Some minor threats have come in the mail, and he has received late night phone calls about his work. "Unless you care very little for human welfare and health, then do away with research," he said. By studying animals, researchers hope to find what causes diseases such as diabetes or muscular dystrophy, h said adding that once the causes o such diseases are understood, cure can be found. "These are essentia steps in the process of mankind.I find it frightening that people wan to stop this." Malvin's reasons for favorinl the use of animals in research ar also based on philosophica grounds. "We have a moral right t use them," he said, "but we should do it in a humane fashion. I think i would be immoral not to us animals. It says, 'I don't care tha an individual has muscula dystrophy or Lou Gehrig's disease. I do care - intensely... Maybe tha should be our slogan - I care." P HILOSOPHY Prof. Car Cohen is also a firmn supporter of using animal in research. In an article published in the New Englan Journal of Medicine last October he wrote, "Animals lack the ca pacity for free moral judgment They are not beings of a kin capable of exercising or respondin to moral claims. Animals therefor have no rights, and they can hav none.- Cohen continues to say that th, benefits derived from using animal in research negate the views o opponents. "The elimination of horribl disease, the increase of longevity the improvement of the quality c lives (for human and animals) e achieved through research using f animals is so incalculably great that s the argument of these critics, 1 systematically pursued, establishes I not their conclusion but their t reverse: to refrain from using animals in biomedical research is, g on utilitarian grounds, morally e wrong." 1 Malvin is particularly offended o by comments made by Ingrid I Newkirk, co-director of People for t the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a e 90,000-member anti-vivisectionist t group based in Washington, D.C., r which appeared in Washingtonian magazine last August. "The head of it PETA says 'A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy'," he said. "I can't accept that. No child is the equivalent of a rat, ever." Malvin then said to the l interviewer: "I value your life more n than that of a mouse and I don't s even know you." Malvin sees anti-vivisectionists d a "a very small minority, but r, they're loud, and dedicated." He and - his colleagues founded a group t- called the Michigan Society for d Medical Research (MSMR) in an g attempt to combat anti- e vivisectionists. Other universities, e hospitals, and health care facilities have joined, Malvin said. The e group is sponsoring a national s workshop here at the University f called "Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals" later this e month. Y, Other groups are springing up to )f fight anti-vivisectionist attempts to halt animal research. Malvin * provided literature from one group called Incurably Ill for Animal Research. The Tucson, Arizona- based group admits it "has a selfish interest in seeing research using animal continued." Malvin supports IIFAR's efforts, saying, "They're appalled that the anti-vivisectionists are saying to them 'We don't give a damn.' I give a damn, and so do my colleagues." ESEARCHERS apparently have public opinion on their side. In a 1985 project done by the Survey Research S Center of the Unvesiy'sIte * for Social Research and sponsored by the MSMR, investigators found that over 88 percent of Michigan 7 residents surveyed believed if was necessary to use animals in research "for progress in medicine." Less ' than 7 percent opposed using rodents in research and about 30 percent opposed the use of dogs and cats. Only 23 percent objected to taking dogs and cats from pounds to use in research, and 56 percent of those surveyed said they would give their pets for use in biomedical research if they became unable to care for the animals. It is the issue of pound animals I upon which most anti- Svivisectionists base their argu- ments. Eileen Liska, director of research and legislation for the Michigan Humane Society and a J University graduate, conceded that T VOLUME 5, NO. 23 ,qw 1,01 bt fi ttilp r M A G A Z I N E A reminder of the importance of disease containment. "there are legitimate cases where animals have to be used in research," but, she added, "The issue of research is totally irrelevant to our concern." Liska said the Humane Society "differentiates between the use of animals in general and the use of pets like dogs and cats." Part of the acceptance of using pound animals in research, she said, is because of a pet population that is too high. Liska said that some pound directors find selling animals to dealers for resale to research institutions an easy way to reduce the pound populations, but she added, "Animals in general are being overused and used unneces- sarily." Liska finds the academic system as a part of the cause for using animals in research: "The animals that are used are caught up in the process," she said, a process that forces professors and researchers to "publish or perish." She said federal regulations are weak and commit- tees such as UCUCA are of little benefit. "Don't tell me that animals are being represented," Liska said. "That's a joke." While Liska did admit that some uses of animals in research are justified, she is doubtful of the need or benefit of using as many as are now being used. "You may have thousands of animals used that may or may not help in biomedical advances," she said. "For any doctor or researcher who makes grandiose claims about animal research, I can find another doctor or researcher who would dispute it." One group, the American Anti- Vivisectionist Society based in a suburb of Philadelphia, takes a much more extreme view than the Humane Society does. It wants to do away with all research involving animals. Bernard Unti, assistant to the president of American A-V, actually criticized the Humane Society for not going all the way in its opposition. One proposal made by anti- vivisectionists to reduce the number of animals used in research is to use artificial models, such as computer models, in place of animals. Unti said computer simulations "can allow students to build animals from scratch instead of tearing them apart." Researchers, however, fear the loss of using animals and are skeptical of computer uses in the near future. Julius, the hypertension expert, said: "If we weren't allowed to work -with animals, the development of modern drugs would stop, period. There are misplaced ideas that you can make progress without animals. I don't think you can." E , TANNING CENTERS E 10 sessIOns 6 se0ssions E for$39for * on campus: . 216 S. State student I.D. required 1896 W. Stadium 747-8844 expires April 30, 1987 662-2602 ; EE E EEEEEEEEEE EEEE t theniAndArin ~ CkU14E RESTAURANT Specializing in SZECHUAN * HUNAN " PEKING Cuisine Come in and see the cleanest.& most beautiful Chinese restaurant in town. We do not use MSG. We use only 100% pure vegetable oil. We're the only Chinese restaurant serving nutritious but low calorie brown rice. I Now serving SUNDAY BRUNCH I I Buffet style from All you can eat 1 10% OFF I 11:30-3:00 5 O All dinners or carryouts I (Children under $ ih hscuo I - 12 half price) per personI with this coupon L ----------1------ -------------- 625 HILTON BLVD. (Formerly JoJo's. next to Vic Tanny) 747-9500 (u PUT THE RIGHT FOOT FOWARD ADVERTISE with 4le Michigan B ttilffi PAGE 12 WEEKEND/APRIL 10, 1987 Plus: 'Police Academy 4' John Lennon and Club Nouveai