UCLA Continues Effort to Reshape Animal Research Debate

The University of California at Los Angeles, which has found itself and its researchers under attack by underground animal rights groups, is continuing efforts to try to reshape the debate on the use of animals in research. The latest move is a full-page advertisement in the Los Angeles Times urging people to join the "pro-test petition" in which scientists and non-scientists alike state the need for use of animals in various studies. "It's important that UCLA demonstrate strong support for researchers who have been subjected to violence and harassment by anti–animal research extremists and that the public understand the vital role animal research at UCLA plays in improving our lives," said UCLA's chancellor, Gene Block, in a statement.