“Experiments are performed on animals that inflict severe pain without the remotest prospect of significant benefits for humans or any other animals.”

—Peter Singer

“Virtually every medical innovation of the last century—and especially the last four decades—has been based to a significant extent upon the results of animal experimentation.”

—William Raub

Public support for animal experimentation has declined steadily over the past fifty years. In 1949, 85 percent of the people in the United States were in favor of vivisection. By 1985, only 63 percent supported animal testing, by 1988 only 53 percent, and finally, in 1990, less than 50 percent of those polled were in favor of it. Although these statistics indicate a steady downward trend in approval ratings over the last half-century, an examination of the history of animal experimentation shows that such trends have traditionally been transient. In fact, views on vivisection have...