A new Animal Sciences course is giving students a chance to hear from many sides of one of science's most controversial on-going debates.
The first course of its kind offered at UW-Madison, \Human-Animal Symbiosis: Law, Ethics and Practice,"" takes on the complex and delicate issues concerning animal rights. The class was created by UW professor Mark Cook, a longtime animal scientist, with help from his undergraduate assistant Lindsay Meeks, an active advocate of animal rights.
The duo cover a wide variety of topics, including animal use laws, bioethics, vivisection (live animal experimentation), human-animal communication and the animal rights movement. This inaugural semester, the one-credit class consists of weekly lectures, including a guest speaker from the group Alliance for Animals.
Originally targeted toward second-semester freshmen in Animal Sciences, the class has attracted students from all parts of campus and the community, many of whom are active in animal rights groups.
""I think both people that are for animal rights and those that are against them will benefit from taking this course,"" Meeks said. ""Both need to realize, understand and learn to respect the other's perspective on the issue.""
According to the instructors, the class is meant to help inform the animal rights groups of what researchers do and why, and help them understand the constant scrutiny the researchers are under. At the same time, it is meant to help inform the Animal Sciences students about the principles animal rights groups stand for.
Meeks, a zoology major and a member of the Madison Coalition for Animal Rights, said she has a contrasting opinion to Cook, who has been working in Animal Sciences for more than 20 years.
""We definitely have different views on the issue of animal rights and I think we keep each other in check,"" she said.
Freshman Becky Wellnitz, a dairy science and life sciences communications major, said she appreciates the interesting subjects and interactive setting the class provides.
""I think the class offers a great environment where people can discuss topics they don't get the chance to talk about everyday,"" Wellnitz said. ""Dr. Cook has done a nice job picking out topics that relate to the whole audience, and that's allowed for some great discussion.""
Cook is a well-known animal scientist, having spent 20 years on campus conducting research, teaching classes and sometimes fending off animal rights activists. While his class is much more manageable by comparison, there will always be a certain amount of emotion to the debate. He said with so many strong opposing views, discussions can get a little more heated than in most classrooms on campus.
""They get a little rowdy,"" Cook said. ""I had to stop them Monday so I could get back to my lecture.""
A predominant issue of animal welfare and a large focus of the class is consumers' tendency to fixate only on the bottom line. Cook said, in the end, this economic pressure is a root cause for the current situation.
""Given the choice between chicken that costs 99 cents and chicken that costs a dollar, most will choose to save the penny,"" Cook said.
