The People's Petition

Animal testing

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Issues
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Animal rights · Animal welfare
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Cases
Brown Dog affair
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Companies
Jackson Laboratory
Charles River Laboratories, Inc.
Covance · Harlan
Huntingdon Life Sciences
UK lab animal suppliers
Nafovanny · Shamrock

Groups/campaigns
AALAS · AAAS · ALF
Americans for Medical Progress
Boyd Group · BUAV
Dr Hadwen Trust
Foundation for Biomedical
Research
 · FRAME
National Anti-Vivisection Society
New England Anti-Vivisection Society
PETA · Physicians Committee
for Responsible Medicine

Primate Freedom Project
Pro-Test
SPEAK · SHAC
Speaking of Research
Understanding Animal Research

Writers/activists
Tipu Aziz · Michael Balls
Neal Barnard · Colin Blakemore
Simon Festing · Gill Langley
Ingrid Newkirk · Bernard Rollin
Jerry Vlasak · Syed Ziaur Rahman

Categories
Animal testing · Animal rights
Animal welfare

Related templates
Template:Animal rights

The People's Petition was an online campaign to express support for medical experimentation using animals in the United Kingdom. Within a year of launch the number of signatures exceeded 21,850 and included Tony Blair, the then-serving Prime Minister.

Purpose

Launched on 20 April 2006 by the Coalition for Medical Progress, a broad alliance that includes pharmaceutical companies and research agencies, the petition was proposed by a member of the public to represent the "silent majority who accept the need for animal studies".[1] David Taylor stated that, as neither a scientist nor doctor, he wanted a way "to show people who carry out medical research that I value and support their work."[2]

The petition offered the opportunity for individuals of any age or place of residence to express support for three assertions:

Response

By 13 May, the petition had recorded 13,000 signatures. The following day, in the wake of publicity around a number of acts of intimidation by animal rights activists, then British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced in the Sunday Telegraph, that he intended to add his name to the petition. As an unusual move for a serving politician, Blair described his intention as "a sign of just how important I believe it is that as many people as possible stand up against the tiny group of extremists threatening medical research and advances in [the UK]."[3]

Animal rights groups criticised Blair's actions; the National Anti-Vivisection Society calling it "hugely irresponsible". The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection praised Blair's stance in tackling extremists, but expressed concern that he was "blindly backing the animal experimenters" practising "outmoded science."[4]

Blair's announcement also drew praise, however. Jean-Pierre Garnier, chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline, stated he was encouraged by Blair's "personal commitment" and Colin Blakemore, chief executive of the Medical Research Council, thanked Blair "on behalf of medical researchers, who live in fear of such intimidation."[5]

Other notable signatories include Caroline Flint and Tom Brake, both MPs, and Polly Toynbee. As of the end of 2006, the number of signatures exceeded 21,850.

See also

References

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