Animal rights and us

Re “UCLA professor stands up to violence,” April 13

If J. David Jentsch, the UCLA professor, believes that his experiments on vervet monkeys are humane and that most would agree, then he should open his doors. Let’s have some transparency.

No one would be happier than me to find out that he is speaking truthfully. But I doubt it. Research on animals is shrouded in mystery.

Jentsch states that animals suffer no pain in his experiments. So here’s the offer: Let a third-party animal advocacy committee with no conflicts of interest make that judgment. If he’s right, he has nothing to lose. If he’s wrong, then I’m confident he will be open to changes, right?

Bettina Rosmarino

Los Angeles

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The general public will remain unmoved by your story, and scientific research using lab animals will continue to decline -- to the detriment of our health. How come? Animal rights organizations will continue to vilify the very research that our underfunded FDA requires to test the safety and efficacy of drugs, cosmetics and devices.

To these protesters and an ignorant public, we scientists are the enemy. Our work striving for humane treatment for animals grown specifically for research -- these aren’t pets -- is mocked.

The public does not fathom that this campaign will not stop until we are all vegans. Even journalists do not comprehend the extent to which scientific research is under fire. The ultimate target of animal rightists is the powerful food industry. Ironically, when they achieve their goals and bring it down, we will have no way to ensure that the vegetables we eat are safe.

H. Winet

Pasadena

The writer is a professor of orthopedic surgery and bioengineering at UCLA.