If you’re gay, is your index finger shorter? Or is your INAH3 just smaller?

[kaiponohea]

Remember that episode where Debbie talked about Mikey’s index finger being just normal? Help me, you all who know the eps by heart….

This rant is a response to shadownyc’s query about the PETA email campaignPETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) got enraged because researchers at Oregon Health and Science University are experimenting on sheep

Comments

[kaiponohea]

I'm glad you all brought the subject up.

Your comment, Shadow, in your journal was:

Sometimes the balance between honesty and making a point gets too blurred. I hope PETA doesn't sabotage their own mission with too much out-of-line behavior.

That's absolutely right on. PETA is right to be concerned, but needs to watch out for hysteria and exaggeration. The scientific community needs to police itself even better than it does currently, and take PETA's points to heart.

It was really, really heartwrenching to have to read all those studies when I was working at the journal. Scientific protocol requires that all the details be made public, so it was very clear exactly what was happening to those animals. Fortunately, though, we found very few studies that didn't follow those NIH guidelines.

However, I actually think that we all need to consider what the life of the average lab rat is like, and compare that with the life of his wild counterpart.

Lab rats, for the most part, have access to food, water, and clean bedding 24/7. They're kept healthy and safe from other animal predators. Yes, they're often injured or made ill by the experimental protocols. But when they die, for the most part they're euthanized (scientific jargon is "sacrificed") in a quick and humane manner.

Wild rats hunt for food practically every waking moment and live in constant fear of becoming someone's dinner. They're subject to all kinds of diseases and parasites. When they do perish, it's never pretty.

So, if you're a rat who knows he's not gonna get out of this place alive, which would you choose?

This may sound flippant, but I'm quite serious.

[shadownyc]

I appreciate your response from a knowledge standpoint that I certainly don't have.