Vernon Coleman's Challenge To Vivisectors - The Final Outcome

It's now official: vivisection is a barbaric waste of time - of no use whatsoever.

I issued a simple but crucial challenge to vivisectors in my Sunday People column and on this website.

The challenge was widely publicized and was very simple.

I asked vivisectors - and those who support vivisection - to find ONE patient whose life had been saved as a direct result of animal experiments.

I gave a deadline of June 30 - which gave the vivisectors two months - to find one patient.

They failed.

Despite a desperate search, vivisectors and their supporters failed to find one patient whose life has been saved.

I am not in the bit surprised.

But this truly must be the end of the vivisectors' wicked pretence that what they do is of value to medicine, doctors and patients.

For years, vivisectors have claimed that they torture and kill animals to save human lives.

For years they have claimed that they want to debate the issue on scientific grounds.

This was their big chance to prove their point.

When I issued the challenge I told vivisectors that if they met the challenge successfully those of us who oppose vivisection would, in future, have to rely on moral and ethical arguments.

But I also pointed out that if vivisectors could not meet this challenge they would lose any remaining credibility.

Well, they've lost. And the anti-vivisectionists have won.

This is a complete humiliation for vivisectors. The argument is now officially over.

It is now official that vivisection is a cruel fraud - done solely for money and kudos.

Vivisection has nothing whatsoever to do with people or health.

Remember that the next time you hear a scientist claiming that vivisection helps people.