Animal Research
The Times’ editorial (“Animal Research,” Oct. 20), urging a Yes vote on Proposition C--the relinquishing of lost animals in pounds or shelters to UCSD for research--is a masterpiece of intellectual dishonesty.
The pivotal issue is not whether medical research performed on animals “could lead to progress in fighting diseases afflicting both humans and animals.” It is about the legitimacy of taking lost or abandoned animals for research from a place of refuge.
Why all the fancy rhetoric about medical research on animals? Proposition C has nothing to do with that--as The Times well knows. It is about the corruption of a place of refuge for lost or abandoned animals, never intended to be a warehouse facility for scientists at UC San Diego School of Medicine.
Most disturbing is that the origin of dogs and cats in pounds is clear--most are former pets. Pound seizure is a companion animal issue which corrupts the entire purpose of animal shelters: A safe place, offering protection from injury, abuse and exploitation and, should the necessity arise, the painless ending of their lives.
WALDRON SCOTT, Escondido
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