"Apprehensive that despite two written enquiries from NZAVS the Committee had not provided us with a format or time-frame, but with an assurance from the previous government that ten people would be Heard and that the meetings could spread over at least two sessions, the ten hard-working members of Operation Knockout accompanied by thirty supporters reported on 20 March 1991 for the initial Hearing of the NZAVS Petition to Abolish Vivisection as instructed prompt at 10am.
We were then, without apology, kept waiting twenty minutes. Finally summoned before the Committee, its Chairman emanating hostility, sprawled, glowered and shuffled papers, and called me 'madam' in an unpleasant fashion. I wondered why he didn't address me by name. He did not introduce his Committee or express the basic courtesies and it occurred to me that any member chosen at random from our Knockout team could teach him the rudiments. Looking across the table at his unfortunate expression I mused that this could be the face of a concentration camp commandant.
Sizing up the situation, which was that this man didn't want to Hear us, I made a meal of thanking the Committee on behalf of the two thousand members of NZAVS, the 120,000 signatories to the Petition, and our overseas affiliates saying that the latter were watching the outcome of the Hearing with interest. I introduced the nine other members of the Knockout team stating the specific aspects of the issue they would individually address. The camp commandant still sprawled, scowled and wrote surreptitious notes which he passed to his Committee members. Introducing the Petition I gave an overview of the case for abolition. Flickers of interest as the Committee viewed a photograph of two vivisection victims. Keith, a Debendox baby with his beautiful and anguished young mother. They were, I said, the misleading results of vivisection. Keith was born without legs and only one arm. Mr Elder expressed concern. I worked at stirring the heartstrings of the camp commandant, but in vain, I didn't and I wondered if he had one. He muttered, and I had to strain to catch the words... 'Something good must come of it'. When I gave further statistics about the damage from institutionalised medicine he said: 'I know something about the subject.' My comment that being so he should be seated on our side of the table sealed for the remainder of the meeting the atmosphere of mutual disrespect.
My delivery progressed, and with it, I noticed, the Committee's growing realisation that this Petition is legitimate and its promoters no-one's fools. Seeing his Committee becoming dangerously impressed the camp commandant then employed divisionary/diversionary tactics to wit: 'If you speak any longer you will deprive your colleagues of their time to speak.' ' You have two hours, you can do what you like with it.' 'What about the 500,000 unemployed?' Since we had anticipated this strategy, which was designed to divide the team and divert the issue Dean Golding reminded the commandant that he [the commandant] was there at the expense of the taxpayer, Vivienne Sands pointed out that the Committee had kept us waiting for twenty minutes before beginning proceedings, I prepared to leave the room and Mr Campion who had not wanted the diversion growled 'let's get on with it'. I got back on course. The interlude had wasted twenty minutes.
The farce progressed. Messrs Elder and Swain who were demonstrably quicker in the wits than the other Committee members, showed interest and asked pertinent questions. They then tried the old gag of seeking additional information. This ploy serves the dual purpose of giving the speaker occupational therapy whilst shifting focus from themselves. Delaying their acceptance of responsibility. Further information was unnecessary, I had delivered more than sufficient to warrant a government enquiry at the highest level, if not an outright and immediate ban on vivisection-based medicine. As I told them about the leagues of doctors opposed to vivisection Ms Moir and Mr Campion appeared transfixed. They hung onto my words, intrigued to a flattering degree. I was thus astonished on completion that they had no questions. They had heard medical evidence that barring nuclear war, vivisection is the greatest threat on Earth to the human race, that I had the facts, and they had no questions! I pointed out that lack of questions reflected lack of knowledge and this Committee should be asking questions. The silence revealed not only their ignorance of the subject but their lack of preparation for the hearing. Messrs Elder and Swain showed potential by making pertinent comments and seeking clarification of minor points but given the magnitude of the issue it was trivial.
Ms Moir and Mr Campion, from whom I saw no animation or stirring of life I suspect at this point one week later are still sitting mesmerised. After demonstrating, by use of a wall-chart, especially made for the occasion which simplifies the abolitionist policy of the combined doctors against vivisection I expected a grilling on the agricultural and veterinarian aspects of vivisection. For this I was well prepared with the veterinary policy of the scientific anti-vivisectionist community however the camp commandant's thoughts were on the clock and his Committee didn't step out of line.
In contrast with the camp commandant's crude and belligerent approach Lawrence O'Halloran's quiet professionalism and concise, controlled manner made me wonder if these two men belonged to the same species. When Lawrence presented his well-researched paper on the impending collapse of civilisation resulting from blind continuance of vivisection-based animal farming, the inability of the environment to sustain it and the necessity for New Zealand to change its obsolete farming methods Moir and Campion remained mesmerised and the camp commandant, still sprawling, sulked. Mr Elder asked some intelligent questions. When Lawrence produced the booklet Animal Research Saves Lives written by the vivisectionist community in defence and promotion of their trade (partly with the taxpayers' money) some of the Committee said they 'had heard of it', Mr Elder 'knew about it', Mr Swain examined the booklet and said it was 'trivial and shallow' and the camp commandant came to life and made notes.
(At this point I beg the reader to consider that Operation Knockout members had undergone thirtyfive seminars, meeting two and sometimes three times weekly in order to prepare comprehensive rebuttals to every claim in ARSL anticipating that the Committee would ask questions from this state policy on vivisection... they didn't!)
As Lawrence wound down on the note that 40,000 children starve to death each day because of obsolete farming methods based on animal agriculture, and therefore on vivisection, the unlikeable, ungallant and unimaginative camp commandant made a clumsy and ragged exit ten minutes before the official closing time, muttering to his colleagues (two of whom, Messrs Elder and Swain had the grace to look embarrassed on his behalf): 'That's it as far as I'm concerned. You can take them to your office for further discussion if you like.'
As the full complement of the New Zealand Primary Production Select Committee shambled from the room to deal with more important affairs of State I feared for the future of the country and its citizens who are in the power of State-owned robots and wondered who they had been protecting.
This disgraceful swindle was a repeat of the Hearing of the NZAVS Lethal Dose 50 Test Petition five years earlier. It was not however without value for it demonstrated beyond all reasonable doubt that vivisection will never be abolished through the available parliamentary legal machine. It also gives the New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society the ability and confidence to say unequivocally that:
every legal channel to pursue the case for the abolition of vivisection in New Zealand, is now exhausted."
Bette Overell - Wellington
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