VIVISECTION OPPOSED

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1075, 12 September 1930, Page 14

VIVISECTION OPPOSED

“ORIGIN OF CANCER IN NEGLECT OF NATURE’S LAWS” A WELL-ATTENDED MEETING A strong condemnation of the vivisection of animals in the cause of science was made last evening, by Mr. M. Walker, in an address on behalf of the Auckland branch of the British Union for Abolition of Vivisection, before a large audience in the Lewis Eady Hall. Mr. Walker declared that any move- i rnent which would entail the practice of vivisection would require strict opposition. This practice, he said, was intended in cancer research work in New Zealand. “And yet,” Mr. Walker said, “it is significant that Dr. Begg, the vivisector who has come to Now Zealand simultaneously with the opening of the cancer campaign, has stated his opinion that cancer is caused by a germ, though eminent j medical men, including Sir W. Arbuthnot Lane, have stated emphatically that cancer is a disease of civilisation unknown among primitive peoples. “In other words, the basic cause of cancer is in neglect of the laws of nature.” Mr. Walker could not see that vivisection and surgery would yield any valuable contribution to the knowledge of cancer. Cancer causes would never bo discovered, because one could not discover what was obvious. The obvious thing was that it was a disease , brought about by neglect of the laws i of nature. According to eminent 1 medical authorities quoted by the speaker, prevention, which meant observance of these laws, was immeasurably better than surgery. CASES QUOTED What had to be urgently considered j by the public, was the suffering caused ) harmless animals in the interests of 1 scientific experiment. In such experi- j ments, diseases were developed deliber- j ately in animals. Mr. Walker quoted cases of suffering caused animals by ! vivisectors. Perhaps the most hor- j rible, he said, was causing two animals j to grow together. Then there was the case which had aroused the condemnation of Geoi'ge Bernard Shaw — the experiment to find what degree of suffering would cause a dog to turn against a man. A dog was called to its master time after time, and each time mutilation, beginning with the lopping off of an ear, was carried out. And yet the dog struggled in agony to respond to the calls of its master until its death. “With all this orgy of horrible experiment,” added Mr. Walker, “medical science is still not able to analyse a single living organism. Sir Frederick Treves has held that nature should be left alone in disease, but the ordinary medical practice is to interfere with the human machine.” Mr. W. IT. Murray, who occupied the chair, mentioned that there was growing public interest in the anti-vivisec-tion movement Mr. Walker had dealt freely with aspects of scientific research.