The People's Petition was an
online
In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on lin ...
campaign to express support for
medical experimentation using animals in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. Within a year of launch the number of signatures exceeded 21,850 and included
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
, the then-serving
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
.
Purpose
Launched on 20 April 2006 by the
Coalition for Medical Progress, a broad alliance that includes
pharmaceutical companies
The pharmaceutical industry is a Medicine, medical industry that discovers, develops, produces, and markets pharmaceutical goods such as medications and medical devices. Medications are then administered to (or Self-medicate, self-administered b ...
and research agencies, the
petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication.
In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...
was proposed by a member of the public to represent the "
silent majority
The silent majority is an unspecified large group of people in a country or group who do not express their opinions publicly. The term was popularized by U.S. President Richard Nixon in a televised address on November 3, 1969, in which he said, "A ...
who accept the need for animal studies".
David Taylor stated that, as neither a
scientist
A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences.
In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...
nor doctor, he wanted a way "to show people who carry out
medical research
Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as health research, refers to the process of using scientific methods with the aim to produce knowledge about human diseases, the prevention and treatment of illness, and the promotion of ...
that I value and support their work."
[ ]
The petition offered the opportunity for individuals of any age or place of residence to express support for three assertions:
* Medical research is essential for developing safe and effective medical and veterinary treatments, requiring some studies using animals.
* Where there is no alternative available, medical research using animals should continue in the UK.
* People involved in medical research using animals have a right to work and live without fear of intimidation or attack.
Response
By 13 May, the petition had recorded 13,000 signatures. The following day, in the wake of publicity around a number of acts of intimidation by
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...
activists, then British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced in the ''
Sunday Telegraph
''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, first published on 5 February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegr ...
'', that he intended to add his name to the petition. As an unusual move for a serving
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
, Blair described his intention as "a sign of just how important I believe it is that as many people as possible stand up against the tiny group of
extremists threatening medical research and advances in
he UK"
Animal rights groups criticised Blair's actions; the
National Anti-Vivisection Society
The National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) is an international non-profit Animal welfare, animal protection group, based in London, working to end animal testing, and focused on the replacement of animals in research with advanced, scientific t ...
calling it "hugely irresponsible". The
British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection
Cruelty Free International is a British animal rights and advocacy group that campaigns for the abolition of all animal testing. It organises certification of cruelty-free products which are marked with the symbol of a leaping bunny.
It was ...
praised Blair's stance in tackling extremists, but expressed concern that he was "blindly backing the animal experimenters" practising "outmoded science."
Blair's announcement also drew praise, however.
Jean-Pierre Garnier, chief executive of
GlaxoSmithKline
GSK plc (an acronym from its former name GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a Mergers an ...
, stated he was encouraged by Blair's "personal commitment" and
Colin Blakemore
Sir Colin Blakemore (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 Advanced S ...
, chief executive of the
Medical Research Council, thanked Blair "on behalf of medical researchers, who live in fear of such intimidation."
Other notable signatories include
Caroline Flint
Caroline Louise Flint (born 20 September 1961) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Don Valley from 1997 to 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she attended the Cabinet as Minister for Housing and Planning in ...
and
Tom Brake
Thomas Anthony Brake (born 6 May 1962) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Carshalton and Wallington in London from 1997 to 2019.
He was appointed Director of the cross party pressure group Unl ...
, both
MPs, and
Polly Toynbee
Mary Louisa "Polly" Toynbee (; born 27 December 1946) is a British journalist and writer. She has been a columnist for ''The Guardian'' newspaper since 1998.
She is a social democrat and was a candidate for the Social Democratic Party in the 19 ...
. As of the end of 2006, the number of signatures exceeded 21,850.
See also
*
Animal liberation movement
The animal rights movement, sometimes called the animal liberation, animal personhood, or animal advocacy movement, is a social movement that advocates an end to the rigid moral and legal distinction drawn between human and non-human animals, ...
*
Animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...
*
Animal testing
Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and ''in vivo'' testing, is the use of animals, as model organisms, in experiments that seek answers to scientific and medical questions. This approach can be contrasted ...
*
Medical research
Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as health research, refers to the process of using scientific methods with the aim to produce knowledge about human diseases, the prevention and treatment of illness, and the promotion of ...
*
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 (animals), SPEAK, an animal-rights campaign opposing the construction by Oxford University of a Healt ...
*
Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty
Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) was an international animal rights campaign to close down Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), Europe's largest contract animal-testing laboratory. HLS tested medical and non-medical substances on around 75,00 ...
*
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 Animal test ...
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:People's Petition, The
Animal testing
Political advocacy groups in the United Kingdom
Petitions