World Day for Laboratory Animals was on April 24th. It was instituted in 1979 & has been a catalyst for the movement to end the suffering of animals in laboratories around the world and their replacement with advanced scientific non-animal techniques.

I’m not going to dwell on what goes on but I do want to share two books that are related to that world.

The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams.

This book is not for the feint of heart. It’s the story of two canine heroes, Snitter & Rowf. After being horribly mistreated at a government animal research facility, Snitter & Rowf escape into the isolation–& terror–of the wilderness. Aided only by a fox they call ”the Tod,” the two dogs must struggle to survive in their new environment. When the starving dogs attack some sheep, they are labeled ferocious man-eating monsters, setting off a great dog hunt that is later intensified by the fear that the dogs could be carriers of the bubonic plague. The Plague Dogs is a visceral, wrenching, emotional read.

Doctor Rat by William Kotzwinkle

This is also not an “easy read”. A dark satire told by a lab rat, Doctor Rat is a political statement on the way we treat our planet & its inhabitants. It strongly questions the morality & ethics of animal testing & those who try to justify it.

There are many ways that technology can replace lab testing & honestly a lot of testing goes on simply because it’s profitable. Sadly there are businesses that breed animals only for laboratories. This is wrong & evil & needs to stop.

CEO Olivia ❤