Institutions where animals are used in cruel and invasive scientific exploration are situated on unceded territory of the Musqueam Nation, known as Vancouver. We ask the Musqueam Nation to call for the cruel and invasive treatment of animals on their traditional ancestral land. Every day at the University of British Columbia, which is built on Musqueam land, thousands of animals undergo experiments that range from burning or crushing injuries to the destruction of eyesight to poisonings with pesticides. UBC’s own researchers admit that there is no valid animal model of the human patient. Langara College, with which the Musqueam Nation has a close relationship, allows the dissection of animals in comparative anatomy courses, despite the fact that sophisticated alternatives are readily available.
We are asking Musqueam leader Leona M. Sparrow to tell the administrators of both UBC and Langara that the Musqueam people will not permit these inhumane, unsustainable practices to continue. Students deserve an education free from harm, and their religious, cultural and ethical beliefs must be respected. Suffering humans deserve treatment that have been developed with the human patient in mind, while our generous donations to medical charities should never be directed toward harmful research on animals.