经济学人下载: 反对动物实验的和平抗议活动正在高涨

A beastly business
一个残忍的行业

Peaceful protests against animal testing are on the rise
反对动物实验的和平抗议活动正在高涨

A FOG of confusion shrouds British attitudes to animals. For a nation of pet-lovers, Britain has surprisingly few vegetarians—just 3% of the population—a point that Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, a celebrity chef, tried to make on October 11th when he described the distinction between a pet and a farm animal as “cultural” and suggested, to general outrage, that puppies could be reared for meat. Britain’s animal-experimentation laboratories boast higher welfare standards than many of its farms and abattoirs, yet provoke far more anger. That hostility is now being expressed more openly, as moderate protesters discover new causes to champion and reclaim their campaign from extremists.

一些令人困惑的事情让人看不清英国人对动物的态度。他们爱养宠物，但素食主义者却出奇地少（仅占其人口的3%）。这也是10月11日烹饪大师休•弗恩利•惠汀斯托尔想要表明的，当时他说，宠物与家畜的区分只是一种文化习惯，他暗示小狗也是可以食用的，这激起了公愤。英国的动物实验室比很多饲养场和屠宰场享有更高的福利标准，这更惹了众怒。现在，那些温和的抗议者发现了他们所要捍卫的新目标并从极端分子那里夺回他们的抗议活动，于是敌视情绪更加公开化。

The number of peaceful protests against institutions that perform research on animals has increased markedly of late (see chart), as memories of the violent attacks on the homes and cars of researchers have faded, according to information supplied by members of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, a lobby group that keeps tabs on such matters. It reckons that many moderate protesters were so appalled at the increasingly abhorrent tactics used by extremists—which culminated in a grave-robbing in 2004—that they abandoned the cause. Only after such attacks had all but halted in 2009 did they return to the barricades.

游说团体“英国制药行业协会”对此事甚为关注，根据这个协会成员所提供的信息，最近，对于动物实验室研究人员的住所和车辆的暴力攻击少了，而针对这些机构的各种和平抗议突然多了起来（见图表）。该协会认为许多温和的抗议者对于极端分子日渐可恶的伎俩 (2004年的“盗墓活动”达到了顶峰) 感到震惊，以至放弃了这个事业。只是2009年这类的攻击快要停止时，他们才回到设置路障上来。

There is more for them to shout about. Despite a ban on the testing of cosmetics and household products on animals, the number of experiments performed in Britain rose by almost 40% between 2000 and 2010 to 3.7m, mainly because increasing numbers of genetically modified rodents were used. In France just 2.5m experiments were conducted in 2010 and the figure has been stable for many years.

对他们来说，需要抗议的还有更多。在英国，这些机构无视不得使用动物对化妆品和日用品进行试验的禁令，从2000年到2010年所进行实验的次数增长了40%，达370万次，主要是因为他们越来越多地使用转基因的啮齿类动物。2010年法国仅有250万次的动物实验，而且这个数字多年稳定不变。

Two aspects of European legislation may push the figure higher still. The REACH directive, an effort to identify whether chemicals that are already used in vast quantities could be toxic to people, requires that their safety be demonstrated scientifically. In some cases only animal tests are deemed sufficient. The European Commission has estimated that 9m animals may be used for such tests; some observers put the figure far higher. Second, changes to the strict laws that require British scientists to consider alternatives to animal tests may be partially relaxed as a result of European reforms. The Home Office is due to respond to a consultation on the subject within the next few weeks.

欧洲法律可能会在两个方面推高这个数字。“触及指令”，一项用来鉴别已被人们大量使用的化工产品是否对人体有毒的计划，需要对它们的安全性进行科学论证。在有些情况下，只有用动物实验结果才能充分可信。据欧盟委员会估计，可能有900万动物用于此类实验，有些观察者认为这个数字远远低于实际。再者，转变为严格的法律，要求英国科学家考虑动物实验的替代方法，可能是欧洲改革的部分放松。内务部在未来几周将对这一主题的咨询作出反应。

Emboldened by the rise of the moderates, new campaigns have begun. Animal Aid, for example, is targeting medical-research charities, which it sees as more amenable to influence than the remote laboratories in which the work is done. It plans to step up its protests.

在温和派的鼓舞下，一些新的活动开展起来。例如，“动物救助”活动把矛头指向了进行医学研究的慈善机构，他们认为这些机构比那些做实验的古老实验室更应对其影响负责。他们计划加紧他们的抗议活动。

For their part, scientists are beefing up their security on the advice of the police, lest animal-rights extremism return. The last of four people who were convicted of conspiracy to blackmail as part of their effort to intimidate a family who bred guinea pigs at Darley Oaks Farm was released from jail last month. The National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit, which oversaw their arrest, has turned its attention to such matters once again.

而科学家们正在加强对警察建议的保护，以防动物权利极端主义的回潮。企图诈骗达利橡树农场一个饲养实验动物家庭的4名罪犯中的最后一人已于上月从监狱释放。过去国家极端主义行动协调小组监督对他们的拘捕，现在再把注意力放在他们身上。

Yet direct campaigns to eliminate animal experimentation by targeting institutions that facilitate it have so far relocated rather than removed the practice. In 1997, for example, protesters directed their anger at Consort Kennels, which bred beagles for animal-testing laboratories. It closed, but it sold much of its stock to the laboratory it supplied so that it could breed the animals needed in-house.

但是，到目前为止，把实验机构作为攻击目标以减少动物实验的直接活动，只是让这种做法改变一下形式，而不能完全消除。1997年，抗议者把怒火直接发泄到饲养实验用猎犬的Consort Kennels狗场。该狗场关闭了，但他把大部分的股份卖给了他们的实验室客户，这样，实验室就能自己饲养实验所需要的动物了。

Any successful effort to eliminate animal experiments is more likely to come from within laboratories than outside them, argue researchers. Animal testing is expensive and can be of dubious value, and scientists would prefer cheaper and more reliable alternatives. Alas for lab rats everywhere, such alternatives are not yet sufficiently developed for animal experimentation to be relegated to the past.

研究人员认为，任何减少动物试验的成功努力更可能来自实验室内部，而不是外部。动物实验成本高昂，价值取向模棱两可，科学家更愿意采用便宜可靠的替代方法。唉，各地实验室的白鼠们，动物试验虽已过时，但替代方法还没有完全开发出来。