Screams of the Innocent: Animal Experiments before the 1900s
Talk | 4 October, 2018, 7:00 PMDogs have been companions to humans for thousands of years. However, until the second half of the nineteenth century, with the development of the pet industry and beginnings of animal rights, it was perfectly acceptable to allow extreme suffering in animals for medical experiments. One of the earliest accounts of dissecting a sentient animal was in 500 BC when Alcmaeon of Croton severed the optic nerves of live dogs to understand how it affected their vision. From the 1600s, as our understanding of physiology began to accelerate, they have played a vital role in shaping our understanding of our bodies and in developing treatments for a wide range of diseases. For a nation of dog lovers, we owe a huge debt to these animals and the part they have played in many ground-breaking discoveries.
