Document Type

Response or Comment

Publication Date

1983

Abstract

Goodman recognizes that it is reasonable to question whether all experiments performed on animals really contribute to human welfare, and he even concedes that the use of animals in laboratories "could no doubt be reduced further without harm to humankind." On the other hand, it is quite clear that he is completely unaware of the sheer quantity of absolutely worthless experiments currently being conducted, ,and that he subscribes to the popular misconception, deliberately perpetrated by the research establishment, that animal experimentation is coextensive with biomedical research, thereby contributing directly to human welfare through the conquering of disease. Furthermore, Goodman seems to be largely ignorant of the extent to which nonanimal alternatives are already available to the researcher, a fact that those with a vested economic interest in perpetuating animal experimentation naturally play down.

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