Research animals probably experience more suffering than human beings (Rollin, 1989). Bernard Rollin cites ethical research on pain: "Understanding the cause of an unpleasant sensation diminishes its severity . . . by the same token, not understanding its cause can increase its severity" (p. 60). Animals cannot fathom the cause of their pain, nor do they have knowledge of when cessation is likely to occur. Further, all living beings equate pain with danger or injury and respond with a desire to escape. It is logical to assume that research animals, restrained in their ability to escape, experience significant emotional distress as well as physical suffering during experimentation. The Association of Veterinary Teachers and Research Workers classifies the suffering of laboratory animals on a scale of increasing severity that ranges from physiological stress (e.g., raised heartbeat), to overstress (diversion

Animal rights opponents are wrong in their assumption that the radical nature of the movement has alienated large segments of society. In a study of levels of activism and perceptions of the need for animal research, David Compton et al. found that members of the academic community, ranging from teenagers to professors, support the agenda of animal rights activists in varying degrees (1995). The subjects of the study were 729 teenagers and adults attending high school or college or employed as professors at academic institutions in central Georgia. Their opinions were compared to a group of 226 men and women not attending college. A survey of 12 questions concerning animal rights and their use in research was administered. The study found that, although high school students were significantly more likely to identify themselves as animal rights activists than the general population, almost 30 percent of combined respondents believed that animal research is immoral regardless of the benefits. Approximately 25 percent of the respondents felt violating government laws to disrupt animal research was acceptable. The acceptability of animal research varied depending on the type of research involved. The majority of the sample (63 percent) called for an end to testing in cosmetics research, 36 percent felt that psychological testing should be elim