The Animal Research War

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 224 pages
• Published by: Palgrave Macmillan
• Edition: 1st Edition May 13, 2008
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 023060014X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0230600140
• Book Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 12.8 ounces

Product Review


Winner of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) Media Award for 2008

"Animal researchers in the United States are the targets of terrorists. If you need persuading that this is happening and that this is bad, read this bookIf you experiment with animals, this book should persuade you to open your post with a letter-opener instead of your finger. There are people out there who really hate you."– Nature

"Conn and Parker unfold stories of attacks and put to rest some of the tired myths of laboratory animals; myths that animal extremists need to perpetuate in order to validate their own dire actions. It is extremely important that an informed public know what is really going on, and how it impacts on the future of healthcare and medical advances. We hope you will also pass it along and help spread truth." — States United for Biomedical Research

"The authors of The Animal Research War are to be congratulated for exposing the tactics of animal extremists, and in particular the extent to which they are prepared to go in their effort to abolish all use of experimental animals. The actions of this tiny minority to deny the ongoing importance of animal research for progress in human and animal health are a disservice to us all." —Canadians for Health Research

"Threats, booby-trapped envelopes rigged with razor blades, and beatings with baseball bats have scared biomedical researchers out of the field and slowed advances in human health care, say endocrinologist Michael Conn and his coauthor, James Parker.  Twenty years ago animal rights activists would meet with scientists to discuss their concerns openly, the authors write, but over the past decade a wing of the movement has become so violent that in 2005 the FBI called it “one of today’s most serious domestic terrorism threats.” – Discover Magazine

“The Animal Research War exposes the tactics of animal extremists for what they are - terrorism. The actions of a tiny minority have seriously set back the progress of research aimed at reducing the suffering of people and animals. It is time for scientists, patients and all who abhor the use of terror to stand up for the future of medical research."--Colin Blakemore, Former Chief Executive, Medical Research Council now Chief Executive of the Research Defense Society. 

"The Animal Research War makes a compelling case that animal extremism, with its threat to biomedical research and the improvement of human and animal health, is an international problem.”  -- Christian Bréchot, Director General of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research

"Excerpts from The Animal Research War, however, have already appeared in two magazines, American Scientist, published by the scientific society Sigma XI, and The Scientist, which covers the life sciences. The latter featured the book on its cover, with the headline: "The WAR Against Your Work." Will that rile animal researchers? That's what Conn and Parker are hoping for. Their book is a battle cry: it asks the research community and its supporters to fight back against a well-honed opposition. As the authors illustrate in detail, both researchers and university administrators are far too prone to cower in dismay rather than stand up for their work." – New Scientist

"Every once in a while, a title comes along whose importance warrants a shout from the rooftops. In The Animal Research War, Dr. Michael Conn and James Parker make a powerful case that the animal “rights” movement has declared moral bankruptcy by personally and viciously targeting medical researchers whose work requires the use of animals.  It’s a compelling read." –Center for Consumer Freedom

"I can't offer any stronger recommendation than this; if you are in any way involved in the security of animal research, read this book."—Shawn Flaugher in RTP Physical Security

"Conn and Parker’s vivid narratives provide interesting insights into the animal rights movement and the making of an animal rights terrorist. The success of the movement, its tactics and strategies, and the public support it has garnered form the basis for a compelling psychological analysis." –Jim Bernstein, Molecular In(ter)ventions

Product Description


When overzealous animal rights activists threaten one of America's best-known scientists and academic leaders, he collaborates with an analyst of animal rights to produce a personal account of what it is like to be a medical researcher targeted by such a powerful movement.  This thoughtful and surprising book analyzes the effect of animal extremism on the world's scientists, their institutions, and professional societies. P. Michael Conn and James V. Parker analyze the motivations of animal rights extremists while also delving into the changing ways in which the public and legal system views animals.  The Animal Research War counters the lies propagated by extremist animal rights organizations: for example, the fact that animals comprise only 6% of any medical research, and very little harm comes to animals under experimentation. 

This book is an intriguing and compelling platform from which to better understand the plight of the modern scientist and the risk to scientific advancement if animal extremism is allowed to win.

Reader Reviews
Coming across a book like this makes me sadder than almost any other type of book I read. Fortunately, it doesn't happen too often. But when it does, it's a disappointment. Even more so, maybe, than books I actually like less. What makes me sad about this book is that I agree wholeheartedly with the authors' thesis but the writing is so poor that it's a slog to get through the book despite its comparatively short length. The problem, I think, is twofold. First, Conn and Parker are scientists and, therefore, want to lay out a logical, well-argued case for their position. This they do, in the flat prose of the scientists they are. They want to rouse some passion (as their counterparts are so good at doing) but their rare attempts to do so come across as discord in an otherwise passionless argument. Which leads directly to problem number two: there clearly is some mean-spirited counter-punching going on here which causes a reader to lose respect for their argument. Conn and Parker name names and air grievances in a way which does little to forward their case. They would have been better sticking to their dispassionate prose. Hidden within this dull prose, however, are some important gems. First is the main premise itself: that, despite what you may hear from fringe animal rights groups, animal research is a necessary part of medical advance and is a well-regulated, humane process. It's always strange that people who want certain types of research to cease would never want to give up the advances generated by that research, and animal research has produced some of the most important medical advances we have including important drug trials and surgical procedures. It is also fair to note that when a person or group steps over the line to harassment and threat, they should be called out. And that when supposedly respectable groups (like PETA) funnel money and resources to these people and groups, they should be called out too. The only time I really connected to the authors' attempt at "passion" was when one of them described his attempt to get a job at a university in Florida where he was harassed and treated horribly by both protestors and the university. It was a shameful episode which was well-conveyed because it was first hand. The second hand stories they tell are too many and don't play as well. I remember a few years back when there really was a furor over animal research in public. It seems to be at a bit of a low ebb right now but these things tend to go in cycles. It's good that there's a sourcebook of information like this one out there. (You can skip the text and go directly to Appendix A for most of the salient details.) Still, if the pendulum swings back the other way sometime in the future, I hope someone takes the information here and writes a better book.