IT SEEMS from the letters in Citizen that the local do-gooders have switched their attention to animal cruelty now that the war in Iraq is over.

Every one of their letters documents the cruelty of experiments on laboratory animals but not one discusses the plus points of lab testing on animals.

In recent years, antibodies have been obtained from spleneotomised animals and have a wide range of uses which we take for granted - things like pregnancy tests, drug tests and the microbiological diagnosis of disease.

New therapies being developed involve coupling toxins to these specific antibodies, which then act as 'smart' bombs and attack cancer cells.

Many pharmacological tests on animals have identified drug receptors and led to numerous drug therapies. For example, tests on guinea pigs led to the discovery of antihistamines, now commonly used to counter anaphylactic shock and hay fever.

One reader said that animals are completely different from us and that tests are useless. These animals are rall elated to us at some point in the evolution and thus give a good indication as to how the human equivalent works.

It is unfortunate that animals die, but strict laws govern their keeping and manner of death, in order to limit suffering. The plus points of animal testing must be acknowledged and people should hear both sides of the story before they make a judgement. Animal testing in the cosmetics and fur industries is wrong and people should focus their attention on that - but scientific research has specific and important goals which lab animals can help us to achieve.

Gareth Blackburn (address supplied).