In the streets

BBC: Animal lab supporters go on march:

Students, academic staff and members of the public gathered near the lab site, being built under strict security.

Anti-vivisection activists, who believe animal testing "belongs in the past", want to stop the centre opening.

Supporters of the centre argue it is essential for research into treatments for human medical conditions.

Physiology professor John Stein said: "Imagine yourself with a drowsy, whimpering three-year-old with meningitis.

"Fifty years ago, that child would have died. Now, due to the discovery and isolation of penicillin in this university, we can stop that child dying."

That's exactly the argument to make. It's pretty hard to imagine a person in the western world today who doesn't know a single person that would be dead right now were it not for products that were produced by or were tested on animals. And that's the level at which we need to maintain this argument: this isn't a convenience issue, or a comfortability issue; this is a fundamental quality and quantity of life issue. And it should be addressed as such.

Also? As someone who works in a lab and conducts tests with animals, it warms the cockles of my heart to see people marching in support of what I do. Thanks, Pro-Test.