Email from David Cameron's office regarding animal testing....
Dear Laura,
I am replying on behalf of David Cameron to thank you for your e-mail.
We believe that any form of animal experimentation should be purely within the context of the necessity for advancement in medical scienceand all-round health. The Conservative Party's long-term vision is for agradual phasing out of animal testing. However, at this point in time itwould be wrong of us to assume we could abolish animal testing outrightwithout potentially damaging consequences. We applaud the work of organisations such as the Dr. Hawden Trust,Europeans for Medical Progress and others, for their advancements inalternative methods of research. However, despite this progress, we arestill not yet at a stage where, in specific instances, these methods areas reliable as experimenting with real animals. The fact that less than10 per cent of medical research involves experimenting on animals isperhaps testament to this; where the use of animals is avoidable, theyare not used.
Please be assured that Conservatives are committed to the 3 'R's of"Refinement, Reduction and Replacement" and understand that thereduction and refinement have to come before the eventual replacement.
Yours sincerely, Lara Moreno
PerezOffice of the Leader of the Opposition
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
Foxwriter
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You can always spot a reply from 'an office' rather than a person. They always sound like someone has simply pushed a button on their computer along the lines of 'Send standard reply number 24'. Far too much effort to actually answer the question.
Remember Spike Milligan when he wrote to a ministry bigwig in the late 1960s about pollution and cars. (Yes, concern for the environment isn't new or something discovered in the last few years).
The reply from the civil servant's stooge was headed 'From the Desk Of'.
So Milligan replied, "Dear Desk. Thank you for your short reply. Can I wish you well and hope your drawers are in good shape".