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Bette Overell
Wellington | Introduction and overview of Petition. The policy of scientific anti-vivisectionism. Condemnation of vivisection-based health service. Details of global movement of a/v medical men. |
Simon Cottle
Wellington
UNHEARD | Cancer - an environmental disease vivisection-based through pollution of medicines and consumer products. |
Ross Gardiner
Auckland
UNHEARD | Vivisection-based drugs. The dangers. The necessity of change to valid medicine. |
Deborah Garrett
Wellington
UNHEARD | Media reports of drug withdrawals in NZ since presentation of Petition. The growing awareness and knowledge of the youth. |
Dean Golding
Wellington
UNHEARD | Immunisation. The fraud, dangers, damage and catastrophic results. |
Sandra Mattiassi
Bay of Plenty
UNHEARD | Victim of drug-damage. Present evidence of personal case history of failure of vivisection-based medicine. |
Lawrence O'Halloran
Palmerston North | Obsolescence of animal, ie vivisection-based farming. The error, waste, tragic results. Necessity to change methods. |
Vivienne Sands
Christchurch
UNHEARD | Genetic engineering. Experiments on humans. The need to stop current methods and evaluate. |
Anita Spencer
Wellington
UNHEARD | Veterinary medicine without vivisection. |
Fiona Tait
Wellington
UNHEARD | Agricultural pesticides and other chemicals. Animal-tested. The danger to public health. |
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Media Buys Politicians Lies
NZAVS telephoned Radio NZ the morning after the Hearing of 20 March to ask if they intended reporting the event (that they had covered). Glynn Jones, Chief Reporter, flippantly insisted that it was "not news". Asking how this could be possible with a Petition of such magnitude where eight of the invited witnesses were not allowed to present their evidence, Mr Jones said: "This is not unusual in Select Committee Hearings." When told that the Parliamentary system of Hearing Petitions must be rotten if all petitioners were treated in this fashion, and that Radio NZ should be reporting our anger to the public, he replied, "Vivisection is continuing news." When asked to elaborate, Mr Jones said, "There are always butchers' shop windows being smashed."!!
The sequel to this incident came on 17 April, the date proposed, after pressure from NZAVS, by the Primary Production Committee to hear the balance of eight witnesses. As the time allotted for this venue was a mere five minutes apiece and not worth bringing people from out-of-town, for the second, and one for the third time, NZAVS informed Mr Meurant in a hand-delivered letter to Parliament on 4 April that witnesses were not satisfied with the conditions and would not attend the meeting. This was confirmed in a further hand-delivered letter to the office dated 14 April.
Exposing the sinister love affair between politicians and the news media, on the morning of 17 April listeners heard Mr Meurant announcing on Radio NZ that "These people have not turned up to the Hearing..." that we "had had our chance and would receive no further opportunity". Horrified, attempting to correct this false information frantic telephone calls from NZAVS to Radio NZ saw us abused, lectured, intimidated and pushed from one department to the other before being finally directed to the person who was responsible for broadcasting the item without verifying the facts. This turned out to be the very reporter who had told NZAVS that the Hearing of its Petition was "not news". Very reluctantly Radio NZ broadcast a correction that evening to the effect that Mr Meurant was perfectly aware that the witnesses would not be attending the meeting!
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