05/15/02 Conscientious Objection
ON THE OCCASION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS' DAY, ANIMAL FRIENDS REQUESTS THE INTRODUCTION OF ALTERNATIVES TO THE EXPERIMENTS ON ANIMALS
Since we are an animal rights and protection organization, the experiments on animals fall within the sphere of our activity. We are familiar with numerous humane educational alternatives, as well as with the fact that there are many students at the University of Zagreb who refuse to participate in the experiments on animals.
Since at the moment no student that refuses to conduct experiments on animals has a right to the conscientious objection, and since the students who refuse to do that cannot take the exam, we request that THE RIGHT TO THE CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION be introduced at the University for the students who refuse to participate in the experiments on animals that are a part of the curriculum.
Furthermore, we request that the University provide alternative educational methods for such students, like computer simulations and inanimate models, as well as numerous other alternatives proposed by our association. We are willing to offer alternative testing methods to the University, as well as to organise courses and seminars on application of those alternatives.
The alternative humane educational methods have been used in European countries for quite some time now, and even the countries of the ex-Yugoslavia adopted such program. We request that our universities join the humane institutions supporting the real science and progress for the human kind, instead of the barbaric torture of animals.
Since we are currently negotiating with the Ministry of Science and Technology, it is possible that the conscientious objection and alternative methods will be introduced at our universities as well. On the occasion of the International Conscientious Objectors' Day, we request that such methods be introduced in our country.
By this action, we continue the campaign for laboratory animals protection launched on World Laboratory Animals Protection Day, on April 24, 2002.
