DownloadThe Portobello Bookshop Gift Guide 2024

An Odyssey with Animals

A Veterinarian's Reflections on the Animal Rights & Welfare Debate

Adrian R Morrison author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc

Published:8th Oct '09

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

An Odyssey with Animals cover

A bitter controversy rages in Western society today: Is it unreasonably cruel to conduct biomedical research on animals? On one side lies a devoted (and, at times, aggressive and even violent) group of activists who believe animals are not human property, subject to our influence and interference. On the other are the researchers whose work developing life-saving medical treatments has hinged on the use of laboratory animals--and the patients who benefit from those treatments. As a veterinarian and sleep researcher, Adrian Morrison understands both sides of the issue, as well as the passions it arouses. Animal use in biomedical research, he argues, is a necessary part of medical advancements that improve human health and quality of life. This is not a position Morrison takes lightly, for he has been the victim of repeated acts of intimidation by animal-rights extremists, who vandalized his office and threatened his family. Refusing to be silenced, Morrison has written extensively on the humane but necessary use of laboratory animals, and was for three years director of the NIMH Program for Animal Research Issues. In this book, he offers the culmination of decades of reflection, scholarly research into the animal rights issue, and first-hand work with animals. The result is a thought-provoking, intelligent, and fair-minded discussion of an emotionally charged subject.

Morrison's honest description of what animal research involves is commendable and unflinching, and his story is unique. * Jennie Erin Smith, Times Literary Supplement *
This is an important book and should be read by all involved in the animal sciences. * Roger Ewbank, Animal Welfare *

ISBN: 9780195374445

Dimensions: 157mm x 234mm x 25mm

Weight: 544g

288 pages