Its’s no secret that a majority of Americans oppose animal experimentation. The Pew Research Center found that half of Americans opposed it in 2014, and the number grew to 52% four years later. That tide is unlikely to reverse.
It’s no great leap, then, to say that those who conduct experiments on animals — chiefly in laboratories of government agencies and public universities — know in their bones that their work is unpopular. This may explain why so many institutions that conduct animal experiments are unwilling to open the laboratory doors for public inspection.
But that’s no excuse.
