Academics debate the ethics of animal experiments at Oxford Summer School

More than 100 academics from around the world will gather in Oxford to debate the morality of animal experiments.

The School on The Ethics of Using Animals in Research is being organised by the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, which aims to pioneer ethical perspectives on animals through academic research, teaching and publication.

The Centre has recently published a major report on the subject, called "Normalising the Unthinkable" (summary here and full report here), endorsed by Nobel Laureate J. M. Coetzee and 150 other academics and intellectuals.

Speakers include: The Revd Professor Adrian McFarlane (International University of the Caribbean); Dr Kay Peggs (University of Portsmouth); Professor Kurt Remele (Karl-Franzens-University in Graz, Austria); Dr Les Mitchell (University of Fort Hare, South Africa); Professor Lisa Isherwood (University of Winchester); Dr Kenneth Valpey (Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies); Professor the Ven. Alex Bruce (Australian National University); Dr Linda Johnson (University of Michigan-Flint); Professor Stephen Eisenman (Northwestern University), and Professor Gary Comstock (North Carolina State University).

A wide range of topics include historical, philosophical, and social perspectives: the history of the London Anti-vivisection Hospital, patenting animals, the issue of moral necessity, animal experiments in antiquity, animal experiments depicted in art, causing suffering in military, psychological and medical experiments, the moral status of animals, gender and the debate about animal experiments, scientific evaluations, and the possibility and limitations of legal controls.

"The Summer School is an opportunity for academics to debate the Centre's report", says Centre director Professor Andrew Linzey. "We are expecting lively exchanges, and a respectful but exciting dialogue."

The School will be held at St Stephen's House, Oxford, from 26-29 July 2015.

Due to the late publication of the report, the call for papers has been extended until 1 May. For more information about abstracts and registration, contact Clair at depdirector@oxfordanimalethics.com.

The School is being sponsored by the BUAV and Cruelty Free International.

ENDS

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Notes to editors

• The Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, founded in 2006 by its director Professor Andrew Linzey. The Centre has more than 90 Fellows drawn from a variety of academic disciplines from throughout the world. See www.oxfordanimalethics.com

• Founded in 1898, the BUAV is the world's leading organisation working to create a world where nobody wants or believes we need to experiment on animals. See www.buav.org.

• Established by the BUAV, Cruelty Free International is the leading organisation working to end animal testing for consumer products worldwide. See www.crueltyfreeinternational.org.