Who Will Stand Up for Helpless Mice?

Re “Not Just Some Guinea Pig” (Aug. 1): I emphatically protest the tone of the article, implying that because mice are like us, it’s perfectly OK to use them, cut them up, infect them with horrible diseases, fool around with their DNA and otherwise treat them as non-sentient beings, utterly at our mercy.

We are not morally justified to use any animals, be they small, easily bred and helpless, for our own benefit. Only our greed, cruelty, unconsciousness and lack of empathy, as well as the dearth of mouse allies and spokespeople allows us to get away with this.

RACHEL ROSENTHAL

Los Angeles