is it fair?

I recently watched a four-part documentary called "The Stans". It was done by a BBC reporter who spent the better part of a year traveling throughout central Asia; in each of the four parts he reported from a different country: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan (had to check the atlas for the spelling of those!!). The first part was from Kazakhstan, where he visited a biological laboratory that stored vast quantities of disease-causing bacteria, including anthrax and the plague. His primary concern was the combination of the extremely lax security at the facility with the relative close proximity of Afghanistan. Fair enough.

But, global politics aside for the moment, what caught me was the sight of a lab technician administering a dose of the plague to a hamster. It was a fairly close shot of the animal; you could see the tension in its arms and legs, and you could also see how much force was required to hold the animal still. You could also look directly into the animal's eyes. I won't even hazard guess as to what was going through its mind, for I find it presumptuous to assume that we know what other animals think. Regardless, it didn't make me feel good. Then, in a matter of seconds, the demonstration was done, and the animal was placed back in its cage to serve out its sentence.

I have been around animals that were used for research purposes; in fact while I was in graduate school, there were certain parts of the biology building where you could hear dogs howling from behind steel doors. Doors that had neither a window or lock; some sort of pass card was required to gain entry. Often while riding in the elevator I would share it with a researcher hauling a cart full of small cages, baby mouse in each.

There is neither room or time enough for a debate on the relative merits of using animals in research. Whenever I raise concerns about this kind of research to someone, their first response is: well if you were sick, would you not want to benefit from research that used animals? Again, I find presumption irritating. If I am ever in such a situation, I will make a decision that I am most comfortable with. But I will say this: I have very strong feelings within me that suggest improper treatment of animals (or any living entity for that matter) in any circumstance is inherently wrong, regardless of what potential human benefit might be derived.

Your thoughts?