The Boyd Group is a British based, independent think tank considering issues relating to animal experimentation. This article is about the institution. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

Background

The group was founded in 1992, the idea forming from a dialogue between Colin Blakemore, a strong advocate of animal experimentation and now chief executive of the Medical Research Council, and Les Ward, then director of the anti-vivisection group, Advocates for Animals. The group is named after its chairman, Kenneth Boyd, a professor of medical ethics at the University of Edinburgh. ^[1] Colin Blakemore is a neurobiologist specialising in vision. ... Current MRC logo The Medical Research Council (MRC) is a UK organisation dedicated to promot[ing] the balanced development of medical and related biological research in the UK. Organisation The MRC is one of seven Research Councils and is answerable to, although politically independent from, the Office of Science and... Etymologically, vivisection refers to the dissection of, or any cutting or surgery upon, a living animal including humans. ... Logo of Advocates for Animals. ... Medical ethics is the discipline of evaluating the merits, risks, and social concerns of activities in the field of medicine. ... The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland. ...

Objectives and approach

The groups states its primary objective is to act as a "forum for open exchange of views" on "issues of concern" to its membership and, whenever possible, form consensus and make recommendations. ^[2] However, due to the diverse membership, the group will often fail to find consensus. In these situations, they aim to publish "an agreed account of where members (as people familiar with the issues) differ from one another, regarding what they consider to be the relevant facts, the best interpretation of these facts and relevant moral arguments". ^[2] Issues for debate are raised by members, then discussed by the group (or a sub-group). Occasionally, the group may communicate with other bodies, such as Pro-Test. ^[3] This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Pro-Test is a British group that promotes and supports animal testing in medical research. ...

The Boyd Group has been criticised by some anti-vivisection organisations. Representatives of the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) told a House of Lords select committee the Boyd Group is a "talking shop" with a "pre-set agenda." ^[4] However, Les Ward defended Advocates for Animals' membership of the group and the effectiveness of a collaborative approach: This article is about the British House of Lords. ... A Select Committee is a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues originating in the Westminster System of parliamentary democracy. ...

"Before cosmetic testing was abolished by the government, or a ban introduced, the Boyd Group called for it to be banned. That was great, here was the animal welfare and the scientific community going together to the Home Office with a powerful voice and putting the case forward." ^[5] Enos the space chimp before insertion into the Mercury-Atlas 5 capsule in 1961. ... The modern concept of Small Office and Home Office or SoHo , or Small or Home Office deals with the category of business which can be from 1 to 10 workers. ...

Membership

The group had, according to Blakemore in 2002, "about 25 member organisations" ^[6] including animal welfare groups, anti-vivisectionist groups, charitable bodies, government, industry, veterinarians, academic scientists and philosophers. The membership includes both expert individuals and those nominated by, and representative of, groups or societies. The group invites applications for membership, but excluding only individuals and groups that "support violent activity or break the criminal law". ^[2] Identified members include: Animal welfare is the viewpoint that animals, especially those under human care, should not suffer unnecessarily, including where the animals are used for food, work, companionship, or research. ...

• Professor Colin Blakemore
• Professor Kenneth Boyd
• Bioscience Federation's Animal Science Group ^[7]
• Professor Stephen Clark ^[8]
• Dr Robert Hubrecht ^[8]
• Advocates for Animals ^[9]
• RSPCA ^[9]
• Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments ^[9]
• The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry ^[10]

The Boyd Group lacks representation from a number of large anti-vivisectionist organisations, with Blakemore admitting their "credibility is reduced because of that". ^[6] Both Ward and Blakemore have expressed a wish to include more of these organisations, including BUAV, NAVS, PETA and Animal Aid. ^{[5] [9]} Dr. Stephen Clark Stephen Richard Lyster Clark (born October 30, 1945) is a British philosopher and international authority on animal rights, currently professor of philosophy and Leverhulme Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool. ... The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. ... The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection is a pressure group based near Highbury Corner in North London, United Kingdom that campaigns peacefully against vivisection. ... Peta can refer to: Peta (prefix), a prefix meaning times 1015 in the International System of Units People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an animal-rights organization People Eating Tasty Animals, a parody of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Peta, Greece, a town in the prefecture... Animal Aid logo Animal Aid is the United Kingdoms largest animal rights group and one of the longest established in the world, having been founded in 1977. ...

Ward has since withdrawn from the Boyd Group, believing it had become "stalemated", but in 2006 continued to defend its usefulness as "one of the few places where moderate activists and moderate scientists sat down and talked things over." ^[11] Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move has no legal moves but is not in check. ...

Publications

• Ethical review of research involving animals: a role for institutional ethics committees? (March 1995) ^[12]
• Advancing refinement of laboratory animal use (April 1998) ^[13]
• The use of animals for testing cosmetics (July 1998) ^[14]
• Genetic engineering: animal welfare and ethics (September 1999) ^[15]
• The use of non-human primates in research and testing (June 2002) ^[16]
• The use of animals in testing household products (December 2002) ^[17]
• Boyd Group/RSPCA: Categorising the severity of scientific procedures on animals (July 2004) ^[18]

See also

• Animal Procedures Committee
• Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986

The Animal Procedures Committee advises the British Home Secretary on matters related to animal experimentation in the UK. The function of the committee was made a statutory requirement by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (the Act), which mandates that it should have at least 12 members, excluding the chair. ... The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act (ASPA) is a law passed by the U.K. parliament in 1986, which regulates the use of laboratory animals in the U.K. Fundamentally, actions that have the potential of causing pain, distress or lasting harm to animals are illegal in the U.K. under...

References

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External links

• The Boyd Group homepage