They All Had Eyes – a must read

A couple of months ago an appeal for a crowd-funding campaign appeared in my inbox. It was for “They All Had Eyes – confessions of a vivisectionist”.  It looked like a very worthwhile cause – a rare opportunity to reveal what occurs inside an animal laboratory - so I made a small contribution. Several weeks later I received an electronic copy of the completed book.

I was looking forward to reading it, but must confess that I am trying to get through a backlog of reading so it was put aside for the time being.

This week I had a power outage at home. There was not much I could do in the darkness but luckily my Kindle was charged so I took the opportunity to start reading They All Had Eyes. I’m so glad I did.

It has been some time since a book had enthralled me, but I read the opening paragraph in the preface and tears welled in my eyes. It hadn’t even begun at this stage to address the treatment of animals in laboratories, but had already instilled in me the immense feeling of guilt and regret felt by the author over what he had done throughout his working career.

The author discloses the matter-of-fact manner in which sentient animals are routinely used and then killed, then exposes his awakening as he refers to certain laboratories as “torture chambers.”

It must be a terribly difficult thing to acknowledge that your entire life’s work may have been misdirected. I am aware of a number of people who have trodden the vivisector’s path fully believing that they were doing the noble thing for mankind in conducting a “necessary evil” on animals, and then later acknowledging the unbearable and unjustifiable cruelty they inflicted on sentient beings. This account however, touched me deeply and I struggled to put the book down.

Accounts of monkey experiments in the latter part of the book describing the removal of brain tissue and eyes were particularly moving considering the work using primates currently undertaken by researchers at Monash, Melbourne and Sydney Universities in particular.

HRA’s policy is to challenge animal experiments on scientific grounds – arguing that data obtained from animals cannot be extrapolated to humans with sufficient accuracy.  HRA’s view is that factual and non-emotive argument is critical to counter scientists’ claims of the necessity of animal use, however we mustn’t forget that at the very core of the debate are millions of animals.  These animals are sentient individuals who have an interest in living free from harm and suffering, or as the author states “own thoughts and a goal in life” and despite us focusing on the science, there are also highly ethical grounds on which to oppose vivisection.

The book also reminded me of a discussion with a fellow student during my studies at Monash University.  An animal technician was telling a group of us how she would not respond to her children’s friends’ question about what she did for a living as “they would not understand”. Maybe they would understand and that was the problem.  Perhaps deep down there was some sub-conscious awareness that what she was doing was unethical.

The picture I have included in this blog is a postcard I have kept on my desk for over twenty years now at various workplaces. It has served me well to remember those individuals whose lives have been lost in the name of science. It keeps me focused and determined to never forget them and to continue speaking out for them.

They All Had Eyes will also help me with this focus.  How very grateful I am for this week’s power outage and how grateful I am to author Michael Slusher for his courage in sharing his difficult story.

I urge you to read this book, available through Amazon, and I’d love to hear your own thoughts.

For further information about animal experiments: Please visit www.HumaneResearch.org.au
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