"We would be in absolute, utter darkness
about AIDS if we hadn't done decades' of basic research into animal
retroviruses."
C. Everett Koop, M.D.
Former U.S. Surgeon General
"Animal experimentation has been essential to the
development of all cardiac surgery, transplantation surgery, joint replacements
and all vaccinations."
1990 Nobel Laureate Joseph E. Murray, M.D.
Professor Emeritus, Harvard Medical School
"Animal research - followed by human clinical
study - is absolutely necessary to find the causes and cures for so many deadly
threats from AIDS to cancer."
Daniel H. Johnson, Jr., M.D.
Former President, American Medical Association
"There is no alternative to the use of animals for analyzing the
complexity of immunity. Progress in all areas of medicine is enormously enhanced
by the new gene 'knockout' and transgenic mouse technologies."
1996 Nobel Laureate Peter C. Doherty, Ph.D.
Chair, Department of Immunology St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
"Now, more than ever, research with laboratory
animals is required to bring the benefits' of advances in molecular genetics,
neuroscience, and other highly productive fields to clinical application through
the study of intact organisms."
1989 Nobel Laureate Harold E. Varmus, M.D.
Director, National Institutes of Health
"The use of animals in biomedical research and testing has
been, and will continue to be, absolutely crucial to the progress against AIDS
and a wide range of other applications in both humans and animals."
Jocelyn Elders, M.D.
Former U.S. Surgeon General
"Without the use of animals and human beings, it would have been
impossible to acquire the important knowledge needed to prevent much suffering
and premature death non only among humans, but also among animals."
Albert B. Sabin, M.D.
Developer of the Polio Vaccine
"Animal experiments have contributed greatly to
the understanding, prevention and control of human illness'. Animal experiments
will continue to contribute greatly to the understanding and control of human
illness."
Alan Goldberg, Ph.D.
Director, Center for the Development of Alternatives to Animal Testing Johns Hopkins University
"The importance of animal models in biomedical research is
indisputable. Without these models, many years of valuable time would be lost in
the discovery and perfection of treatments and vaccines for a multitude of
illnesses, including AIDS."
Kristine Gebbie, R.N.
Former Director, Office of National AIDS Policy
"My life and the lives of millions of people with HIV or
AIDS depend on scientists working with animals to develop new therapies."
Jeff Getty
Recipient of baboon bone marrow in AIDS research experiment