Abstract
The inaugural meeting of the Oxford branch of the Universities Federation of Animal Welfare was held on February 22. Dr. Edward Hindle, president of the Federation, gave an address in which he stressed the fact that the humane treatment of animals is not simply a national question, but also an international one, and therefore most appropriate for a university body. Cruelty, he said, is not usually deliberate, but generally the result of ignorance and carelessness, and one of the main objects of the Federation is to try to spread information which would lead to a better state of affairs. A handbook on the care of laboratory animals, dealing with the health, feeding, etc., of various animals commonly kept in laboratories, will shortly be published on behalf of the Federation, which is also founding a research studentship for the investigation of more humane methods of dealing with rodent control. The occupant of this post will spend at least a year investigating the possibility of developing a more humane poison than those now in general use and also other methods of controlling the rodent population in a particular district. Dr. J. R. Baker said that in Great Britain obvious cruelty to animals has been almost eliminated, but much suffering is still caused by thoughtless actions. Accurate knowledge of animal life is necessary, and the zoological departments of universities should be especially active in the cause of animal welfare. Major C. W. Hume, Chairman of the Federation, said that apathy towards the reasonable rights of animals is due partly to a reaction against cranks, but mainly to imperfect education in the sense of a lack of broad culture. The Universities Federation for Animal Welfare works in harmony with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and kindred societies, and their functions do not overlap. During the present century science has been gradually coming into its own in public affairs, and many Government departments now have a staff of scientific advisers. The place of the Federation in the animal-welfare movement is somewhat analogous ; but although most of its activities hitherto have had a scientific quality, there are other fields of thought and knowledge to which it must turn its attention, notably jurisprudence, pedagogy and the psychology of man's behaviour in relation to animals. The address of the Federation is 284 Regent's Park Road, London, N.3.
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Universities Federation for Animal Welfare: Oxford Branch. Nature 157, 258–259 (1946). https://doi.org/10.1038/157258d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/157258d0