Vivisection and the diseases of animals.

  • Fleming, George, 1833-1901.
Date:
1882
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Vivisection and the diseases of animals. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    1/11 (page 468)
    VIVISECTION AND THE DISEASES OF ANIMALS. In venturing to join in the seemingly never-ending discussion of the lawfulness of vivisection, I may say at once, with the object of de- fining my position, that I abhor cruelty to animals in any form what- ever, and by whomsoever inflicted. Cruelty—i.e. production of un- necessary pain or suffering—has ever been to me a source of discomfort, disgust, or anger; and for now more than a quarter of a century I have done all I could, as a veterinary surgeon and lover of animals, to ameliorate tbeir condition, suppress cruelty in every form, and render their existence as pleasurable as was compatible with the services demanded from them. That a fearful amount of useless and wanton animal suffering is daily and nightly inflicted, no one for a moment can deny. In our streets, cattle boats, markets, slaughterhouses, and everywhere around us, we meet with cruelty in many forms and in variable degrees; though we are so accustomed to it that, unless it is a flagrant case, it rarely attracts attention. It is not uncommon to see a cabman vivisecting his horse by means of his whip, without a word of remon- strance from the lady or gentleman in the cab ; or a half-drunken drayman belabouring his horses about the head with the butt-end of a whip, or kicking them on the legs or belly, without any passer- by attempting to interrupt his enjoyment. For those who care to protect inoffensive creatures from cruelty, there is abundant occupation; and the sentiment of humanity cannot be too strong or too prevalent, in order to diminish, if not suppress, the cruel practices to which animals are submitted every day without benefit to science, to humanity, or to themselves. Of those who are in a position to help in this good work, the veterinary surgeons in this country, I am proud to say, have been, and are, among the foremost. To excel in their calling, they need special qualifications; and among these a love of animals, and an intuitive or even instinctive know- ledge of their individual peculiarities, desires, and modes of expres- sion in health and disease, are absolutely essential. The absence of the tender sympathy which is excited when performance of a painful operation is necessary, and which abbreviates time and quickens the