Speaking of Research (SR) is an international group which "aims to provide accurate information about the importance of

animal research 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 ...

in medical and veterinary science". It was founded in March 2008 by Tom Holder, an "energetic young British activist who played an active role in the

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 ...

movement at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

," who moved to the US for the purpose of setting up such a group. Holder had previously been a spokesman for Pro-Test, as well as acting as emcee for their three demonstrations. Speaking of Research state their aims are to "change the tide of the controversial animal rights debate by encouraging students and scientists to speak out in favor of the lifesaving research developed with animals." Their launch came during a period of increased

direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...

in the US. Since 2007, a number of researchers from the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

system have had their homes attacked by

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

activists, including one

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California syste ...

(UCSC) researcher whose residence was invaded by six masked activists on February 24, 2008. According to the journal ''

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

'', the group also aims to "

ork Ork or ORK may refer to: * Ork (folklore), a mountain demon of Tyrol folklore * ''Ork'' (video game), a 1991 game for the Amiga and Atari ST systems * Ork (''Warhammer 40,000''), a fictional species in the ''Warhammer 40,000'' universe * ''Ork!'' ...

with public schools to counter information from groups such as

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; , stylized as PeTA) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. PETA reports that PETA entities have ...

." Speaking of Research's launch was jointly supported by both Pro-Test in the UK, and

Americans for Medical Progress Americans for Medical Progress (AMP) is a nonprofit advocacy group that supports the use of animal testing in biomedical research. Although in favor of moderate animal welfare measures, the AMP aligns against animal rights groups such as PETA and ...

in the US. In 2014/15, its running costs were approximately $150 and paid by small donations from supporters. Its committee is made up primarily of researchers and veterinary technicians, including members of UCLA Pro-Test such as Dr. David Jentsch. During "World Week for Animals in Laboratories (2008)," Holder traveled to West Coast universities including

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

Oregon Health & Sciences University Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a public research university focusing primarily on health sciences with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland, Oregon. The institution was founded in 1887 as the University of Oregon Medi ...

, and the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

to speak about the role of animals in

biomedical research Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as experimental medicine, encompasses a wide array of research, extending from "basic research" (also called ''bench science'' or ''bench research''), – involving fundamental scientif ...

. Speaking of Research have supported pro-animal research movements around the world including "Pro-Test for Science" (in the US) and "Pro-Test Italia" (in Italy). Their committee includes individuals from the US, Canada, UK, Portugal and Italy. Speaking of Research have long been a proponent of greater transparency and openness in animal research. In February 2016 they analyzed the position statements of over 200 research institutions in Europe and North America, concluding that most did not meet the highest standards of openness. To be included on the list, an organization must "at minimum maintain a public web page with a position statement on animal research". As of April 2018, the organization had analyzed 378 position statements, awarding only 27 of them with full marks. Speaking of Research were among the first organisations to criticise the

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

for removing animal welfare reports and documents from the website in February 2017. The USDA has subsequently begun to return many of these documents to the website. In 2018, Speaking of Research launched a Rapid Response Network with the aim to "engage scientists by prompting them to send letters or sign petitions in support of animal research". The first action was a letter to

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

signed by almost 600 scientists, veterinarians, animal technicians and other members of the American scientific community, including four

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

Winners, calling on the "country’s research institutions — large and small — to embrace openness ndproudly explain how animals are used for the advancement of science and medicine, in the interest of the wellbeing of humans and animals." In August 2018, Holder stood down as Director and from the committee; currently all committee members are now active researchers.

Pro-Test for Science

Speaking of Research offered its support to the UCLA Pro-Test movement (later renamed Pro-Test for Science), which was founded in March 2009, on the UCLA campus, with Holder playing a leadership role on the organizing committee. On 22 April 2009 more than 700 staff, students and Los Angeles residents, led by the

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist who has specialised knowledge in neuroscience, a branch of biology that deals with the physiology, biochemistry, psychology, anatomy and molecular biology of neurons, Biological neural network, n ...

David Jentsch, held a rally to launch the UCLA chapter of Pro-Test, and to stand up to the animal rights activists who had targeted Prof. Jentsch and other scientists in a campaign of harassment and

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

. At the event, Tom Holder announced the launch of the Pro-Test Petition, which aimed to give people in the US the "opportunity to show

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...

support for the scientists and

opposition to the use of threats and violence. The Pro-Test Petition accumulated 11,600 signatures over 12 months,"UCLA Newsroom: Pro-Test rally supports researchers"
Retrieved 29 January 2013 after gaining backing from a number of science organizations including the

Society for Neuroscience The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is a professional society, headquartered in Washington, DC, for basic scientists and physicians around the world whose research is focused on the study of the brain and nervous system. It is especially well kn ...

. and

American Physiological Society The American Physiological Society is a non-profit professional society for physiologists. It has nearly 10,000 members, most of whom hold doctoral degrees in medicine, physiology or other health professions. Its mission is to support research and ...

. The petition was signed by every chancellor in the

system and several Nobel Prize winners. At a second UCLA Pro-Test rally – by then, renamed Pro-Test for Science – the petition was handed to representatives from the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

. In February 2012, two members of Speaking of Research and Pro-Test for Science, Prof. David Jentsch and Prof. Dario Ringach, won the 2011 AAAS

Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsi ...

for "their rare courage, their strong defense of the importance of the use of animals in research, and their refusal to remain silent in the face of intimidation by animal rights

extremists Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied share ...

References

External links

*
Pro-Test Website

Americans for Medical Progress Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Speaking Of Research Animal testing in the United States Science advocacy organizations