Last night’s forum on animal research at UBC’s Green College was an outstanding success. This was the first time UBC faculty and staff has held a public discussion about animal rights and animal research. I could not believe what I heard from the speakers: they vigorously challenged the very notion of utilizing animals in research and the prevailing thought that animals are “less than” and here for our “use.” The room was PACKED. Standing room only. One major problem: so many people showed up that about 30 people couldn’t get into the event.

For the first time UBC has released some details about its animal research, including data on the numbers and types of animals used in experiments. The data UBC released today, and which can be reviewed here http://www.animalresearch.ubc.ca/animal-species-2010.html, reveals that in 2010, “211,764 animals have been involved in 982 research protocols in 2010.” That number is far higher than previously thought.