The Boyd Group is a Britain-based, independent

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

considering issues relating to

animal testing Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and ''in vivo'' testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments that seek to control the variables that affect the behavior or biological system under study. This ...

Background

The group was founded in 1992, the idea forming from a dialogue between

Colin Blakemore Sir Colin Blakemore, , Hon (1 June 1944 – 27 June 2022) was a British neurobiologist, specialising in vision and the development of the brain. He was Yeung Kin Man Professor of Neuroscience and senior fellow of the Hong Kong Institute for Adv ...

, a strong advocate of animal testing and subsequently chief executive of the Medical Research Council, and Les Ward, then director of the anti-

vivisection Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for experiment ...

group, Advocates for Animals. The group is named after its chairman, Kenneth Boyd, a professor of

medical ethics Medical ethics is an applied branch of ethics which analyzes the practice of clinical medicine and related scientific research. Medical ethics is based on a set of values that professionals can refer to in the case of any confusion or conflict. T ...

at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

.Kenneth Boy
Bringing both sides together.
''Camb Q Healthc Ethics''. 1999; 8:43-5.

Objectives and approach

The groups states its primary objective is to act as a "forum for open exchange of views" on "issues of concern" to its membership and, whenever possible, form consensus and make recommendations. Retrieved December 12, 2006. However, due to the diverse membership, the group will often fail to find consensus. In these situations, they aim to publish "an agreed account of where members (as people familiar with the issues) differ from one another, regarding what they consider to be the relevant facts, the best interpretation of these facts and relevant moral arguments". Issues for debate are raised by members, then discussed by the group (or a sub-group). Occasionally, the group may communicate with other bodies, such as

Pro-Test Pro-Test was a British group that promoted and supported animal testing in medical research. It was founded on 29 January 2006 to counter SPEAK, an animal-rights campaign opposing the construction by Oxford University of a biomedical and animal ...

.Pro-Test at the Boyd Group
Retrieved December 12, 2006.

Patrick Bateson Sir Paul Patrick Gordon Bateson, (31 March 1938 – 1 August 2017) was an English biologist with interests in ethology and phenotypic plasticity. Bateson was a professor at the University of Cambridge and served as president of the Zoologic ...

has said of the group: The Boyd Group has been criticized by some anti-vivisection organisations. Representatives of the

National Anti-Vivisection Society The National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) is an international not-for-profit animal protection group, based in London, working to end animal testing, and focused on the replacement of animals in research with advanced, scientific techniques. S ...

(NAVS) told a

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

select committee Select committee may refer to: *Select committee (parliamentary system), a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues *Select or special committee (United States Congress) *Select ...

the Boyd Group is a "talking shop" with a "pre-set agenda."Minutes of Evidence, Question 1362
''Select Committee on Animals In Scientific Procedures'', March 12, 2002. Retrieved December 12, 2006. However, Les Ward defended Advocates for Animals' membership of the group and the effectiveness of a collaborative approach:

Membership

The group had, according to Blakemore in 2002, "about 25 member organisations"
''Select Committee on Animals In Scientific Procedures'', January 22, 2002. Retrieved December 12, 2006. including

animal welfare Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...

groups, anti-vivisectionist groups, charitable bodies, government, industry, veterinarians, academic scientists and philosophers. The membership includes both expert individuals and those nominated by, and representative of, groups or societies. The group invites applications for membership, but excluding only individuals and groups that "support violent activity or break the criminal law". Identified members, past and present, include: *Professor Colin Blakemore *Professor Kenneth Boyd *Bioscience Federation's Animal Science Group Report of the Animal Science Group of the Biosciences Federation for 2005
. ''Biosciences Federation''. Retrieved December 12, 2006. *Professor Stephen R. L. ClarkCurrent APC Members and Register of Interests
. ''The Animal Procedures Committee''. Retrieved December 12, 2006. *Dr Robert Hubrecht * Advocates for AnimalsMinutes of Evidence, Question 967
''Select Committee on Animals In Scientific Procedures'', January 22, 2002. Retrieved December 12, 2006. * RSPCA *

Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments (FRAME) is a charity based in Nottingham, UK. FRAME promotes consideration of the ethical and scientific issues involved in the use of laboratory animals for medical research, and the a ...

*The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry Minutes of Evidence, Question 1004
''Select Committee on Animals In Scientific Procedures'', January 22, 2002. Retrieved December 12, 2006. *Professor Patrick Bateson The Boyd Group lacks representation from a number of large anti-vivisectionist organisations, with Blakemore admitting their "credibility is reduced because of that". Both Ward and Blakemore have expressed a wish to include more of these organisations, including

BUAV Cruelty Free International is an animal protection and advocacy group that campaigns for the abolition of all animal experiments. They organise certification of cruelty-free products which are marked with the symbol of a leaping bunny. It was ...

, NAVS,

PETA Peta or PETA may refer to: Acronym * Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943 * People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization * People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...

and

Animal Aid Animal Aid is a British animal rights organisation, founded in 1977 by Jean Pink. The group campaigns peacefully against the consumption of animals as food and against animal cruelty such as their use for medical research—and promotes a cruel ...

. Ward has since withdrawn from the Boyd Group, believing it had become "

stalemate Stalemate is a situation in the game of chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check and has no legal move. Stalemate results in a draw. During the endgame, stalemate is a resource that can enable the player with the inferior ...

d", but in 2006 continued to defend his participation in "one of the few places where moderate activists and moderate scientists sat down and talked things over."

Emma Marris Emma Marris (born January 15, 1979) is an American non-fiction writer. She grew up in Seattle, Washington, and attended Roosevelt High School, where she worked on the school newspaper. She earned a BA in English at the University of Texas at Austi ...

Animal research: Grey Matters
''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

'', 13 December 2006. Retrieved December 23, 2006.

Publications

*''Ethical review of research involving animals: a role for institutional ethics committees?'' (March 1995) A role for Institutional Ethics Committees?
''The Boyd Group'', 1995. Retrieved December 12, 2006. *''Advancing refinement of laboratory animal use'' (April 1998) ''Laboratory Animals''. 1998; 32:137-42. Retrieved December 12, 2006. *''The use of animals for testing cosmetics'' (July 1998)
. ''The Boyd Group'', 1998. Retrieved December 12, 2006. *''Genetic engineering: animal welfare and ethics'' (September 1999)
. ''The Boyd Group'', 1999. Retrieved December 12, 2006. *''The use of non-human primates in research and testing'' (June 2002) ''The Boyd Group'', 2002. Retrieved December 12, 2006. *''The use of animals in testing household products'' (December 2002) ''The Boyd Group'', 2002. Retrieved December 12, 2006. *''Boyd Group/RSPCA: Categorising the severity of scientific procedures on animals'' (July 2004) ''The Boyd Group/RSPCA'', 2004. Retrieved December 12, 2006.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links