Vivisection

It is permitted in England only upon license from the Home Office, and in some cases the place must be registered. The experiments must be performed with the object of advancing knowledge, which will be useful for saving or prolonging life, or for alleviating suffering, and not for the purpose of attaining manual skill, nor as illustrations to accompany lectures, unless it is certified that the illustrations are absolutely necessary for due instruction. The animal must, during the whole of the experiment, be under the influence of some ansesthetic, sufficiently strong to prevent it from feeling pain. In some cases the animal must be killed before recovering consciousness. In Massachusetts, by the act of March 22, 1894, vivisection in the public schools is prohibited, and dissection is confined to certain classes, under penalty of a fine. In a case against a physician for violating the trial judge charged that the law of Pennsylvania does not allow any one to inflict suffering on a dog for the purpose of obtaining scientific information; see 71 Leg. Int. Phila. 508.