Since before the opening of the University of British Columbia medical school in
1950, a group of Vancouver citizens has contested the use of laboratory animals by local
scientists. The resulting debate has consistently centered around questions of the cruelty
and scientific value of animal experimentation. Although antivivisectionists received
little coverage in Vancouver's decidedly pro-vivisectionist mainstream press between
1950 and 1980, they nevertheless caused Vancouver researchers to employ a number of
tactics to foster a positive image of their animal care practices during this period. By the
early 1980s, Vancouver antivivisectionists had succeeded in disseminating highly graphic
descriptions of animals undergoing experimentation via local community newspapers,
and in using direct action tactics to link these images with specific Vancouver
laboratories. In response, medical researchers heightened their longstanding efforts to
conceal their experimental practices from public view. The limited public visibility of the
animal lab and the commonly held belief in the necessity of animal use for medical
progress both helped to limit opposition to animal experimentation between 1950 and
1990, despite an increasingly widespread acknowledgement of the cruelty of this set of
practices. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/15779 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | McMillan, Robert Edward |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Format | 3695136 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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