SAN DIEGO COUNTY : Animal Research
With the sensitive animal rights issue continuously surfacing, voters may read too much into Proposition C on the Nov. 6 ballot. Remember, this advisory measure asks only whether the county of San Diego should continue to provide pound animals for medical research.
We believe that the current county policy of selling a small number of animals to UC San Diego School of Medicine for research is acceptable, morally and practically.
When the rhetoric is set aside, the essential facts are these: UCSD performs valuable medical research that could lead to progress in fighting diseases afflicting both humans and animals. While researchers use some animals bred specifically for research, certain experiments require older animals or ones subjected to the real world.
UCSD purchased only a few hundred of the 24,000 animals brought to county shelters over a recent 12-month period. Before an animal is made available for research, it is held to allow pet owners to claim it.
Most of the pound animals used by the medical school would be euthanized anyway. If pound animals are made unavailable, they will die along with additional ones bred for research. More animals will perish, not fewer.
Opponents of the system claim that animals used in research inevitably suffer, physically and emotionally, more than those euthanized. We are not insensitive to that pain, but must conclude that, on balance, the present system is the best resolution of a difficult situation.
We recommend a yes vote on Proposition C.
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