It is often claimed that the use of animals in medical research is justified by the fact that such use has been involved in the major discoveries of drugs to treat serious and fatal illnesses. But the law requires that new drugs are tested on animals for effectiveness and safety, so, of course, every new wonder-drug involves the use of animals at some stage. Thus to claim that the very fact of animal testing proves the value of using animals in medical research is as nonsensical as claiming that wearing lab coats whilst doing experiments proves the value of lab coats in finding new cures. The important question in relation to animal experiments is, therefore, whether they are crucial in providing the necessary weight of evidence on effectiveness and safety of drugs, not ___________________________