Kathy Divine’s new book Vegans Are Cool has just been released. It features essays, interviews and articles by vegans from around the planet - including one by me. The paperback is cheaply available on Amazon and elsewhere and she’s also generously making the entire ebook available for free! Check out the book website!

“World Wars, the Holocaust, nuclear weapons, the Cold War, and the failure of socialist experiments drastically undermined our confidence in our own species,” asserted the Vice-President of the Institute of Animal Technology in Veterinary Practice [UK] in November. Dr Fiona McEwen argued this has contributed to a lack of appreciation of human superiority over other species, and an unjustified level of social concern about the use of animals in laboratories. Read my critique and her subsequent response in the Jan. 2012 edition of Vet Practice, here.

To help us celebrate Christmas, Palgrave Macmillan has very generously agreed to offer my book The Costs and Benefits of Animal Experiments for a massive 50% off the regular price of £55, i.e. for only £27.50, to all of my personal contacts. This hardback academic text is part of the Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series, produced in partnership with the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics.

Few ethical issues create as much controversy as invasive experiments on animals. Some scientists claim they are essential for combating major human diseases, or detecting human toxins. Others claim the contrary, backed by thousands of patients harmed by pharmaceuticals developed using animal tests. Some claim all experiments are conducted humanely, to high scientific standards. Yet, a wealth of studies have recently revealed that laboratory animals suffer significant stress, which may distort experimental results.

Where, then, does the truth lie? How useful are such experiments in advancing human healthcare? How much do animals suffer as a result? And do students really need to dissect or experiment on animals? What are the effects on their attitudes towards them?

In The Costs and Benefits of Animal Experiments, I present more than a decade of scientific research, analysis and experience to provide evidence-based answers to a key question: is animal experimentation ethically justifiable?

By using meta-analyses of large numbers of animal experiments selected randomly — the ‘gold standard’ when assessing biomedical research, and analysing over 500 scientific publications, I’ve been able to provide unprecedented insights into the contributions of animal experimentation to human healthcare, and the extent to which laboratory animals suffer. I provide the most recent evidence-based estimations of laboratory animal use globally and in major world regions, and review the types of procedures animals are subjected to, and their level of invasiveness. I conclude with an overview of key regulations governing animal experimentation within Europe and North America, and propose a set of policy reforms to facilitate increased implementation of alternative research and testing strategies. To aid busy readers, short summaries are also provided at the end of most chapters.

Rigorous implementation of policies such as these would restore to animal research the balance between human and animal interests expected by society, intended by legislation, and demanded by detailed ethical review. I make virtually no money from this book, but I would like to ask you to consider helping me to outreach this evidence and information as widely as possible. If you support these goals, please consider forwarding this message or leaflet. Thank you!

The discount may be obtained by entering the code WBCOS2011a at the checkout at www.palgrave.com. It’s valid until 29th February 2012. This offer is not directly available to readers in the US, Canada and Australia, who should contact me for assistance. I will ensure none of you miss out.

I’m gratified to report that an article ‘Cognitive relatives yet moral strangers’ by animal ethicist Judith Benz-Schwarzburg and I has been shortlisted for a 2011 Voiceless Media Prize. Voiceless is an independent non-profit think tank dedicated to alleviating the suffering of animals in Australia. It has awarded over AUD 1.2 million to Australian animal protection projects since 2004.

Voicless media prizes ‘recognise the most accurate and influential print, online or broadcast features’ relating to animal protection and ethics. The 2011 judging panel included J M Coetzee, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature; the Honourable Bob Carr, former Premier of New South Wales; and Emeritus Professor David Weisbrot AM, Former President of the Australian Law Reform Commission.

Our article was published in the first edition of the new academic Journal of Animal Ethics, produced by the Oxford Centre of Animal Ethics, earlier this year. It effectively updates the case for animal rights. By summarising the most recent scientific discoveries about the remarkable behavioural and cognitive characteristics of birds, dolphins and primates, we explore their capacities for culture, language and Theory of Mind. We argue that stronger evidence exists than ever before for widening the circle of moral consideration beyond humans, and for the granting of basic rights, akin to fundamental human rights, to such species.

Copies of this article may be requested from me. Judith’s PhD also explores these issues in greater depth, as will her 2012 book. Our article is effectively a 28 page summary of both of these.

We were deeply honoured to be considered for this prestigious award, which we feel also reflects the standards of the Journal of Animal Ethics. On this occasion though we were ultimately unsuccessful. In the end the award was presented at a gala cocktail event in Sydney on 30th November to the authors of an animal law publication, to whom we offer our sincere congratulations. Further information about the 2011 Media Prize is available here.

In partnership with the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, Palgrave Macmillan is publishing a new series of key introductory and advanced texts that map out ethical positions on animals. The series explores the challenges that animal ethics poses, both conceptually and practically, to traditional understandings of human-animal relations. At least 15 books are planned, of which seven are, or shortly will be, available.

Information about the series is here and here, and the Palgrave series leaflet is here.

The RSPCA Service for Animals at Westminster Abbey in October provided the perfect excuse to visit one of Britain’s most historic and intriguing locations. The bodies of many famous British luminaries are entombed beneath its hallowed stones, and the gothic architecture is amazing. The service also included an eloquent sermon by Reverend Professor Andrew Linzey, who summarised UK progress and lack thereof on animal issues. He blamed the government for the latter, and also criticised the lack of involvement of the churches. But the stars of the show were always going to be the two Metropolitan Police sniffer dogs. Read the Veterinary Practice story!

In November I narrowly survived my first attempt at extreme vegan ironing. Although I was nearly blown off the Welsh mountains with my ironing board. Check out my adventure here!

In October my partner Jasmijn de Boo and I both lectured at the 2nd Annual European Conference for Critical Animal Studies in Prague, interested as we are in esoteric socio-philosophical theories about human-animal relations. In particular, I was deeply interested in the troubled relations between the citizens of medieval Prague and the fabled Golem, which unfortunately seemed to regularly end in disaster when the Golem ran amok. And so we prepared our powerpoint presentations, gathered our cryptozoological research tools, and boarded our fateful flight to one of Europe's most haunted cities... Check out the pictures!

Self-punishment is an ancient and noble tradition, and its various forms have been established over many millennia. Nevertheless, I believe I may have discovered a new one. In recent times I’ve taken it upon myself to cross oceans at enormous personal expense in order to give lectures criticising the ethics of animal experimentation at international laboratory animal science conferences. My lectures summarise key evidence contained within my book The Costs and Benefits of Animal Experiments, recently published by Palgrave Macmillan.

In June I spoke at Europe’s second-largest laboratory animal science conference, held in Istanbul. To my great surprise, I was neither shot down in flames nor pelted with ripe tomatoes. Indeed, my talk actually went rather well. It certainly attracted a lot of attention. And somehow the difficult questions from the audience I had so been dreading resolved into a single growl from a grim-looking lady promising me that ‘We’ll read your book!’, for which I duly thanked her. And let’s not forget the very stern looking gentleman who spent 20 minutes scrutinising my book, literally page by page, before announcing he wanted to order bulk copies for his university!

Maybe these lab animal meetings weren’t so bad after all, I thought. Maybe, in fact, I should try an even bigger one! Europe’s largest lab animal science conference was the only bigger one forthcoming, so last week I polished my Powerpoint presentation and headed to the 49th Annual Meeting of the Society for Laboratory Animal Science in Dresden. This time I would face an audience of up to 700, nearly all of whom would probably hate me. If that didn’t warrant some kind of self-punishment medal, I didn’t know what would.

First, however, I rolled out of my hostel bed for a dawn run around the local park. I was delighted to discover that a series of ever-more sculpted gardens led eventually to a palace, at the end of a reflective lake! The rest of Dresden did not disappoint either. For centuries it was the royal residence of the Kings of Saxony, who filled the city with cultural and artistic splendour. Known as the Jewel Box, the stunning baroque and rococo old city centre was completely destroyed by Allied bombing towards the end of World War II. Fortunately it appeared to have been completely rebuilt, often using the original stones, somehow convincingly retaining its medieval look. Tragically, the 25,000 civilian lives lost were not so easily restored. Many estimates are far higher.

Unfortunately, the conference itself proved far less interesting. Most of the sessions seemed to be in German, or focused on obscure, esoteric fields of animal research. I nobly resisted the temptations to visit the local castles instead, dutifully remaining to leaflet and mingle with the researchers during the coffee breaks. No other speakers appeared to be addressing animal ethics, and not even a single animal rights activist was protesting outside. I felt very alone. Briefly, I even considered chatting to the hulking security officer guarding the front entrance. Notwithstanding his presence and that of his ubiquitous colleagues at nearly every door, some of the industry representatives still became visibly anxious when I asked to photograph their exhibits. I was spared their company and that of the laboratory animal scientists attending the gala dinner later that evening, as apparently the Society for Laboratory Animal Science is one of the world’s few scientific societies unable to provide vegan fare other than salads. And so instead I explored the stunningly picturesque old city by night :) A wonderful extreme vegan runner friend and her partner, who are now resident in Dresden, took me on a tour of Dresden’s darker side, which proved rather interesting…

All good things come to an end, however, and all too soon, the time of my doom approached. Finally, it was my turn to speak. Thankfully however, only about 50 people were left at the end of the conference, where they had squeezed my ethics talk between one covering laboratory management, and another about how to make staff feel better about conducting harmful experiments on, and then killing, the animals they care for(!)

The palpable hostility emanating from the remaining audience more than compensated for their diminished ranks, however. Nevertheless, thanks partly due to copious nerve-induced background study and rehearsal, my presentation actually went quite well. And once again, the questions at the end I’d so been dreading, were a bit of an anti-climax. One very grumpy old man took the microphone and stated that he ‘disagreed entirely with my methods and conclusions’. However, the only reason given was that he thought one of the studies I’d cited was unpublished. It was trivial to point out that that he was mistaken, because all the studies I’d cited were published in peer-reviewed journals. Another of lesser courage handed me a nasty note, then fled.

So, in the end it appeared that my fears of any real challenge were again unfounded. And to date, I’m still waiting for someone to provide a scientifically credible challenge to the evidence and arguments contained within my book. Nevertheless, I think that for my next extreme challenge, I’ll be trying something a lot less stressful, a hell of a lot more fun, someplace a whole lot warmer and sunnier. Shark-diving would do nicely, I think, before those wonderful creatures all go extinct. And I’m pretty sure I would prefer their company.

The pics from my recent trips to these Istanbul and Dresden conferences can be found here, and the published story of my Istanbul adventures is here.

In June I mingled with 300 animal researchers at Europe’s second largest lab animal science conference. My talk argued that much of their research was ethically unjustifiable... Read about my misadventures at the conference and in Istanbul in Veterinary Practice!

On Aug. 22 the Veterinary Times requested my views on the sentencing of animal welfare offenders and the role of veterinarians in advancing animal welfare, within the context of a discussion about online petitions. Read the article here.

On Aug. 15 the Veterinary Times published my critique of the Bateson Review of (UK) Research Using Non-Human Primates.

Helen Marston of Humane Research Australia has very recently debated Laurie Pycroft of Pro-Test, on the thorny issue of animal experimentation, in New Internationalist.

Following ongoing online debate, and the recent publication of my book, The Costs and Benefits of Animal Experiments New Internationalist asked me to write an editorial. This has just been published.

Comments are now invited, at either of these New Internationalist pages.

The Veterinary Practice story of my search of the Great Barrier Reef for the Giant Nautilus, which has supposedly been extinct for 65 million years. The photos here and here are some of my best!

My December 2010 expedition in search of the Tasmanian tiger has now been chronicled in the UK’s Veterinary Practice magazine. Don’t miss the photos from our amazing adventure!

PRESS RELEASE 27 MAY 2011

Are animal experiments justified? A book published today by Palgrave Macmillan sheds new light on one of the greatest controversies in animal ethics.

This comprehensive review of recent scientific evidence examines the contributions of animal experimentation to human healthcare, and the extent to which animals suffer as a result. It asks whether students really need to dissect or experiment on animals, and examines the effects on their attitudes towards them.

Bioethicist and veterinarian Andrew Knight presents more than a decade of ground- breaking scientific research, analysis and experience to provide evidence-based answers to a key question: is animal experimentation ethically justifiable?

More...

Animal ethicist Judith Benz-Schwarzburg and I have just published a lengthy academic article in the first edition of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics’ new Journal of Animal Ethics, effectively updating the case for animal rights. Based on recent information about the remarkable behavioural and cognitive characteristics of birds, dolphins and primates, we argue that stronger evidence exists than ever before for widening the circle of moral consideration beyond humans, and for the granting of basic rights akin to fundamental human rights to species possessing advanced cognitive and related characteristics.

The 2009 UK laboratory animal use figures were recently published by the Home Office. This Veterinary Practice [UK] article analyses the animal welfare implications of these latest figures, and summarises the adverse welfare impacts of laboratory environments and protocols generally. It summarises the implications for laboratory animal welfare of the new European Directive governing laboratory animal use, and of UK budgetary cuts.

After seven long years of research, my thesis Animal Experimentation: Human Utility, Attitudinal Impacts and Alternative Strategies has finally been awarded a PhD at one of Australia’s top universities, where I was thrilled to discover that it attracted an honour for academic excellence. The thesis was based on 16 scientific publications critically analysing the human clinical, toxicological and educational utility of animal experimental models.

This is the first PhD based on scientific criticism of animal experimentation of which I’m aware. I hope that its success clearly demonstrates to others that (i) there is a very strong scientific case against animal experimentation, and that (ii) the scientific criticisms that may be levelled are sufficiently numerous and detailed to support strong PhDs. Indeed, I believe this field offers ample potential to support further PhDs, and would be pleased to advise other students interested in pursuing such research.

Naturally, this called for celebrations: specifically, the consumption of gourmet vegan truffles and wine at our local park yesterday evening. I was even more thrilled that my celebration was joined both by an inquisitive fox, who sniffed my shoes yet lived to tell the tale, and by bats who provided celebratory swoops above the ruins of the 12th century castle nearby. Given that the animals are the most obvious beneficiaries of my research, I’m thrilled they chose to attend.

In the Journal of the UK Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law Veterinary Association, I recently published an article summarising animal welfare standards within the veterinary profession: deficiencies, possible causes and solutions.

I’ve recently published in UK veterinary journals a two-part series of articles, as well as a short summary, on the contributions to climate change of the livestock sector. I also describe the impacts of our reliance on livestock products on global food security, and strategies for mitigating the severe adverse impacts of the livestock sector on climate change. As required by the evidence, the articles conclude with a call for decreased consumption of animal products. These may be freely downloaded here.