by Peggy Carlson

About the author: Peggy Carlson is a physician in the Washington, D.C., area and a research scientist for the Humane Society of the United States.

As an emergency room physician I often see the suffering of patients ill and dying from diseases that could have been avoided if more resources were devoted to prevention, if healthier dietary guidelines were advocated, and if more research applicable to humans was conducted. I also know that behind this human suffering is another level of suffering, more hidden from view: the suffering of animals used in costly and needless experiments that benefit no one.

The practice of using nonhuman animals to mimic or study human disease is often unreliable, and occasionally misleads scientific investigation. It also squanders precious financial resources that are urgently needed for crucial clinical and epidemiological studies...