My Thoughts on Vivisection

I believe most of us know instinctively where our abilities and natural affinities can be used most effectively to fill a need beyond our own immediate circle. For some it impels them to help the poor in India, others to teach inner city children, others to wake us up to the immanent environmental destruction of our planet. As for me, I always loved animals and wanted to protect them. The important thing is to follow that impetus placed in your heart by a power beyond yourself.

When I was still in school in Monterey and lucky enough to win a small part in Clint Eastwood’s PLAY MISTY FOR ME, I thought, some day when I’m very rich and famous like my wonderful director I’m going to do BIG things to help animals because then everybody will listen to me. Until then, what can I possibly do for them? So I did nothing.

A few years later and a few acting roles on television later, I met Chris De Rose founder of LAST CHANCE FOR ANIMALS in Los Angeles. His goal was very clear; end vivisection. Now, vivisection is something that NOBODY wants to think about or talk about and I was no exception. Having to look at horrible pictures of animals being tortured in laboratories? No thank you! And how could it possibly be stopped? Scientists in laboratories have been looking for human cures using animals for decades. It’s what they do. It will go on forever. And I don’t want to think about it. Helping my friend Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society seemed a much more winnable effort. The slaughter of seals and whales is horrifying but naively I thought, with the majority of the public on our side, surely we can end it soon. I thought, it’s not hopeless, like ending vivisection.

The volunteers in the Last Chance office would not give up on me. They called repeatedly, urging me to come to demos or meetings and finally I gave in. It was through Last Chance that I discovered Javier Burgos’ documentary HIDDEN CRIMES and Hans Reusch’s book SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENT. Their message hit me like a ton of bricks, ANIMAL RESEARCH IS A FRAUD!! IT HARMS HUMANS AND THE PLANET AS WELL AS ANIMALS!! THERE IS A WAY TO END THE ATROCITIES IN VIVISECTORS’ LABORATORIES!! JUST LET THE PUBLIC KNOW VIVISECTION DOESN’T WORK.

With new-found anti-vivisection friends I plunged into involvement with Last Chance and Javier Burgo’s SUPRESS. For years I worked information booths, disseminated literature, took part in demonstrations, wrote countless letters and ran another A-V group PRISM for a year. I expected opposition and denials from vivisectors at UCLA, USC, THE CITY OF HOPE, LOMA LINDA, CEDARS SINAI and the others but what shocked me was the completely unexpected antagonism from animals groups. Their leaders were familiar with SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENT and the scientific argument against vivisection but they did not want to use it. They were afraid their donors would be turned off by being told diseases had no hope of finding "cures" in vivisectors’ laboratories. The much safer argument, that has been around since vivisection began is the ineffectual cruelty argument. No one could fault animal groups for being against cruelty. After all, that’s why they exist in the first place.

Javier and Chris could make no headway with the leaders of the huge national animal organizations. They tried to reason with them pointing out that when you use the moral issue against vivisection, vivisectors will ALWAYS accuse animal rights people of caring more about animals than people. Why not point out that vivisection harms animals AND people. But no, intimidated by "scientists" and fearful of losing donations, the leaders of other animal groups worked against SUPRESS which was reaching thousands of people with A-V commercials and newspaper adds. The machinations of other animal groups made it all but impossible for SUPRESS, later re-named THE NATURE OF WELLNESS, to raise money for their A-V campaigns. Chris De Rose who courageously was arrested time and time again in his efforts to get the scientific fraud issue out to the media finally had to pull back and concentrate on various animal issues sorely in need of attention. He had hit a stone wall with vivisection. By this time I had moved to New York and worked alone regarding vivisection, still writing letters, still talking and still mailing out information.

To this day, the big national animal groups cling to the moral argument. Considering the massive growth of vivisection, even they have to admit, it has been a failure. So some of them are now saying in their literature not only is animal research cruel, "much" of it is unscientific and useless. They still can’t bring themselves to tell the truth. And when the door is left open that "some" animal research works, the public will want it to continue. How else are we going to find "cures" to disease?! They, like the vivisectors also like to talk about "alternatives" to vivisection and have been talking about it for as long as I can remember. I’d like to know, what exactly is a good "alternative" to something that doesn’t work in the first place?

Left to my own devices with no A-V group I could join that would unite all of us who want to continue to inform the public of the fraud of vivisection, the idea for this site was born. I will direct you to other sites and other groups who, even though they are involved with animal cruelty issues, fight vivisection with the scientific argument. There are also links to environmental groups that are doing great work for the planet but have no knowledge of the fraud of vivisection. It is up to us to educate them. Almost every disease charity is an arm of the petro/chemical/pharmaceutical industry and is involved with vivisection. There is a list of those that do and those that don’t experiment on animals on the PCRM site. And if you want to contact me with suggestions or questions, please do so.

I am certain that the "new" anti-vivisection movement, the scientific fraud movement that Hans Reusch, Javier Burgos and Chris De Rose began in the eighties, is merely in hibernation. It needs resources and it needs people. I’m certain in a short time it will find both.

So, at this point in my life, even though I’m not the rich and famous actress I had dreamed of on the set of PLAY MISTY who would some day change the world, I accept that rich or poor or in between I want to be a part of what Margaret Mead described in her famous quote: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has." I hope many will join me in believing that and do whatever they can to help bring an end to vivisection.

"Doctors give drugs of which they know little,
into bodies of which they know less,
for diseases of which they know nothing at all."

- Voltaire