Activists protest against animal research outside Vancouver symposium

Demonstrators on Sunday gathered outside a downtown Vancouver hotel where a symposium on animal research was being held.

The animal rights activists, some holding signs and one wrapped in a white sheet splashed with red, stayed on the sidewalk in front of the Wall Centre on Burrard Street during the noon-hour protest where the Canadian Association for Laboratory Animal Science (CALAS) was having an annual four-day series of meetings.

Protester Brian Vincent, a director of Stop UBC Animal Research, said they want to see experiments on animals stopped altogether.

?There is no such thing as humane experiments on animals,? he said. ?It is cruel.?

Vincent said in the past they have had protests at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

?UBC is one of the leading institutions,? he said of the university?s animal research. He said they estimate more than 200,000 animals were used in research at UBC in 2010.

Vincent also said the protesters believe live experiments are going on inside the hotel at the symposium.

?They are experimenting with live animals,? he said of the symposium.

?They claim they are teaching people to experiment on animals more humanely,? he said. ?But we want them to stop using animals altogether.?

CALAS is a national association dedicated to providing training and educational resources to animal care professionals across Canada.

According to CALAS president Michelle Gillespie, the association strives towards treating animals as humanely as possible. ?We believe animal research ? when done ? has to be conducted humanely and passionately,? she said.

She did confirm the symposium has some workshops involving live animals. ?A very small number of workshops involve live animals,? she said.

Gillespie said they have a full lineup of speakers who are experts in the animal research field.

?We focus on training and education of people in the research environment,? she said. ?The purpose of this symposium is for animal care providers to network and share ideas.?

jcolebourn@theprovince.com

? Copyright (c) The Province

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