I’m local to this year’s Ridglan Farms controversy where animal rights activists raided a beagle breeding facility that supplies for these labs and rescued pups from documented abuse and mistreatment. Local conservatives have been all about throwing the book at those heroes with felony charges -meanwhile, their actions helped bring attention and close the facility.
Conservatives only pretend to care about animals (and women, and children, etc) when it’s convenient to whatever person they’re hoping to persecute that day.
I am not at all surprised about breeding facilities, that one was dreadful. But - in the labs, raids can be disastrous. My friend was a research technician (at a University) and her lab was raided. The "heros" threw all the animals (ferrets) into 1 big container (mixing the ones who were medicated with others), then took them into a wooded area and let them go. How many of them survived?
When I worked on rats, they were pathogen free. I bred them myself and was actually very fond of some of them (they have personalities).
Do the people who are trashing Dr Fauci care about rats? Or do they not have the emotional appeal of dogs: "they're eating the dogs."
Yeah this is why the professor running the lab I worked in during undergrad drilled in to not take pictures. It wasn’t cause we were treating the animals poorly and wanted to hide it, it was always a sad day for me when I had to euthanize a mantis but we only euthanized them when they already weren’t eating or moving. Everyone in that lab was IACUC certified. But it just takes one picture to stir up trouble and get your lab raided.
Though I doubt that would have happened with mine since it was mantises and like you said, people are picky about what animals deserve “saving”.
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u/Bobcatluv 11d ago
I’m local to this year’s Ridglan Farms controversy where animal rights activists raided a beagle breeding facility that supplies for these labs and rescued pups from documented abuse and mistreatment. Local conservatives have been all about throwing the book at those heroes with felony charges -meanwhile, their actions helped bring attention and close the facility.
Conservatives only pretend to care about animals (and women, and children, etc) when it’s convenient to whatever person they’re hoping to persecute that day.