Mariette Devereux - Vivisection (animal testing)

Don’t you just love the scratching of the rodents in the walls? No, no one does so why is it different when we want to use them to save our lives? Yes I’m talking about animal testing?

Human beings are the most valuable and important forms of life on earth. Nothing is worse than the suffering of a human being, nothing at all. I agree with animal testing because what have we got to lose if for every 10 rats that die 10,000 human lives are saved?

Without animal testing we wouldn’t have been able to cure many diseases that we now are lucky enough to found antidotes for. Here is just a small selection of the major medical breakthroughs made possible by animal testing:

·         Asthma

·         Meningitis

·         Parkinson’s disease

·         Penicillin

·         Blood transfusion

·         Tuberculosis

·         Insulin

Not only human benefit comes from animal testing but there have some benefits for animals also for example heartworm which has saved many dogs lives.

Animal testing is the most accurate way to ensure the safety of drugs and medicines. Our scientific knowledge about medicine has improved a lot because of animal testing.

I’m going to conclude by saying that I am an animal lover, animal rights activists are doing good by doing what they think is right and trying to protect animals but really tell honestly do you value a rats life over your own?

Michael & Mitch

Proposed Fiordland MonoRail - Ben Martin

The decision for the Fiordland monorail to be built through a national park shocked everyone. MDL (Milford Dart Limited) wishes to construct an 11.3km tunnel linking the Hollyford and routeburn roads. This will spoil tons of native forest, and will destroy many animals’ homes. The whole monorail track will be 43kms long. The journey crosses Lake Wakatipu to Mt Nicholas Station, travels up and across the Von River valley and then crosses the Mararoa River to pass around the southern of the Snowdon Forest and finishes at the entry to Fiordland National Park at Te Anau Downs. The MDL are planning to use a tunnel boring machine, to cut the tunnel through a mountain. I strongly disagree with monorail being built. Not only does it cut through Native Forest, it also cuts through hunting grounds, and beautiful untouched land. The effects of a no hunting zone will turn into a deadly cycle as follows:

The Monorail gets built

A large no hunting zone will be issued

This will mean that animals will breed and prosper, destroying native plants and animal nests

The tunnel is for bus use only use only, this would mean that the people on the bus would miss out on most of the nature and scenery that they were on the bus for!

New Zealand has maintained a clean green image for a long time, but building a large monorail and a tunnel, will put a dent in our Image of cleanliness. Artists descriptions and other things, depict lush fauna hanging over the train tracks, but really they won’t be able to because of potential damage to the train and tracks.

The tunnel boring machine MDL wish to use, rips a hole a massive hole in the side of the mountain, destroying many animals homes, it piles through the mountain, leaving a mass of rock of rock in its wake. Finally it rips out the other side. This has major affects on the environment. You don’t want that do you???

People may say that having a monorail and a tunnel will connect Queenstown to Milford, and it will, but MDL say it will take approximately 4.5 to 5 years for the tunnel to be built and then who knows how long for the tracks! I strongly state the we should NOT build the monorail and tunnel.

Week 8 Term 3 Assembly Award - Jenny

Well done Jenny, a super effort put into all that you do in all areas of your learning.