MORE than 500 top UK scientists and doctors have declared their support for animal testing in medical research, following the closure of a Staffordshire guinea pig breeding programme.
The defiant declaration, drawn by the Research Defence Society (RDS), states that a "small, but vital" part of medical research involves animals.
The society says it has been signed by three Nobel laureates, 190 Fellows of the Royal Society and the Medical Royal Colleges and more than 250 academic professors.
The statement is not directly linked to the closure of the Hall family's operation, following a six-year campaign of intimidation by animal rights extremists.
The closure of Darley Oaks Farm in Newchurch, prompted Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant to warn the victory for the "animal rights terrorists" could encourage other groups to target similar organisations.
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The campaign against the Hall family, which included the desecration of the Yoxall grave of 82-year-old Gladys Hammond, the mother-in-law of Christopher Hall, who co-owns Darley Oaks Farm.
RDS executive director Dr Simon Festing said: "We are delighted to have gathered over 500 signatures from top UK academic scientists and doctors in less than one month.
"It shows the strength and depth of support for humane animal research in this country."
The declaration states that researchers should gain the medical and scientific benefits that animal experiments can provide.
However, it also points out that scientists should make every effort to safeguard animal welfare and minimise suffering.
Wherever possible, the statement continues, animal experiments must be replaced by methods that do not use them, and the number of animals in research must be reduced.
