She's swinging from the trees, beating her breasts in primal anger, and scaring little old grandmas with the spectre of anthrax smokin' animal rights zealot terrorists. Yes it's the Toronto Star's Ellie Tesher again, and fueling her rage is a harmless federal bill (C-15) that would increase penalties for animal abuse.

   Tesher beats her scare drums in two new columns. One titled "Animal extremists compromise research" and the other "Animal rights fanatics are health hazard."

   Ms. Tesher sees a sinister plot by animal extremists in the fine print of Bill C-15 – one that would grant animals equality with humans and tie the hands of the Dr. Frankensteins of animal research.

   Does Ellie have a solid case here? My answer is no, not at all.

   Let me begin by saying that some literary tricks are unfair. My opening in this article is obviously unfair to apes. They don't deserve to be tied to Ellie Tesher in any sort of comparison. The same thing goes for animal rights people – they don't deserve to be tied to anthrax and terrorism through Tesher's manipulation of language and dubious examples.

    I'm equal and I'm a cat that has reported on Ontario animal actions this year. I know nearly all of the people and groups that are lobbying for an animal protection bill. Tesher would have us believe that this is about some extreme actions some chapter of the Animal Liberation Front undertook in some other place at some other time. But the truth is that it is about what citizens and animal support groups in Canada are doing and want right now.

    There are many groups -  Niagara Action for Animals, Animal Alliance, Ark2, Caged, Toronto Coalition For Bill C-15, ZooCheck, The Ferret Aid Society and Freedom for Animals to name a few. Women are in the majority in animal rights actions. There are young people, middle aged and older people. Often they work in animal rescue or pet related stuff. Those that protest are the most peaceful of all protest groups. Nearly always fully cooperating with police at demonstrations. I didn't see any arrests in Ontario this year.

    Ms. Tesher's cornerstone argument is that progress in disease control will be hindered if any research on animals is stopped. Bill C-15 doesn't block research, but Tesher still trots out her experts, and the problem here is that anyone can bring out experts. Facts are that new research and products come out every day through companies and labs that don't use animal testing. Scientists are like nearly every other business group. They will stick to the old ways until they are forced to change. They like to show officials a lab equipped with animals as a way to insure funding, and they don't want to do any original thinking in coming up with new cures or medications. It's easier for them to torment animals and hope to get lucky.

   If you'd like to see how hideous animal experimentation has gotten, then see the "Terrible despair of animals cut up in name of research" at http://www.lineone.net/express/00/09/21/news/n1820-d.html Read it and then ask yourself if animal testing is needed.
 
   Tesher's fears when it comes to animals as equals are another needless scare. The better view of nature is that we should live in harmony with plants and animals for a sustainable world. The scientific and technological experts that Tesher favours are really people that see nature as our enemy. They think we've built a beachhead of technology and must fight the monster of nature to survive. We will experiment, torture, drug and pesticide our way to security and health. It doesn't matter that through that approach we've created new health hazards and poisons faster than antidotes. 

   More than a billion and half people live in complete misery on this planet. More than ever before. Science has not saved us, and most of the people in the world can't get or afford new medications. What they get is pollution, starvation and environmental devastation. Our science and politics are based on death and not on life.

   To be fully civilized we have to oppose hideously cruel factory farming and animal experimentation. Any advance of science should be a humane advance. Genetic Engineering, which our government subsidized to the tune of a billion dollars this year is really the greatest threat to our health. Corporations and governments have made it possible for anyone with ten thousand dollars to build their own bio terror lab. Legal genetic engineering is out of control and there is no amount of animal experimentation that will save us from deadly transgenic creations.

   Live by experimentation. Die by experimentation. That is the most probable fate of the human race.  Animal activists, apes and Bill C-15 aren't to blame for it. Tesher and her experts should look in the mirror. Maybe the real terrorists are there.
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