February 6, 2008

Utah Senate Passes Bill to Hide Identities of Animal Researchers

Utah’s Senate passed a bill on Tuesday that would protect the names, home and work addresses, and telephone numbers of researchers at state universities who use animals. The bill now goes to the House.

The measure was proposed in response to harassment of academic scientists by a group called Utah Primate Freedom, The Daily Utah Chronicle reported last week. The animal-rights group stages demonstrations and publishes researchers’ home addresses on its Web site.

The names and some contact information of several of the animal scientists targeted by the group are easily available at the Web site of the University of Utah. The bill would make such information unavailable to protesters or other people, including journalists and other researchers, without an appeal. —Lila Guterman

Comments

1. The animals “rights” protesters are obnoxious, but does it make sense for a public institution of higher learning to conceal public information?

   — Richard    Feb 6, 04:53 PM    #

2. Post their names, post their work contact information, post their email…I understand however that posting their personal phone numbers and addresses is going too far. And believe me, I am a huge animal rights activist! I wear an anti-factory farming and against animal testing pin on my apron at work in whole foods market. I will be the first one to jump on a case of animal abuse and neglect. These creatures are being tested on because someone thinks its too inhumane to test on people! Outrageous, if it’s too inhumane for people, then it’s too inhumane for animals!
   “To my mind the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being. I should be unwilling to take the life of a lamb for the sake of the human body. I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to the protection by man from the cruelty of man.”
   -Ghandi
   We could all learn a lot from that quote. So yes, if the scientists are willing to exploit and harm these creatures, then justice is deserved. Make them reachable to the public, but we cannot educate if we constantly go about things in negative ways. And trust me, when I see footage, I want to electricute every single person who tests on animals…i wish them OFF my planet…

   if only that’s the way the world worked…unfortunately, animals in todays society are thought of as a lesser being…

   it’s ironic…we treat animals the way many whites treated black people, as well as other minorities not so long ago…if we learned from that mistake…why can’t we learn that animals are our equals too?

   Brynn Longenecker
   20
   Female
   AA FA Film Studies
   Honolulu/Annapolis

   — brynn    Feb 6, 05:02 PM    #

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