Animal rights for human welfare - Robert Porzel [IARC2021]

While animal rights are not contingent on their effect on human animals and ought to be considered an absolute right, there are numerous cases in which an implementation of animal rights would directly benefit us humans. Animal testing is such a case. In this talk, Robert Porzel will highlight where and how the continuation of animal testing in medical research and development is harmful to human beings and what scientific approaches could be pursued if animal testing was to be discontinued. Therefore, the implicit question will be raised whether and how animal rights activists should advocate these benefits to the public.

Dr. Robert Porzel is a national representative for the German anti-vivisection organization Ärzte gegen Tierversuche and founder of the animal rights group T-Zelle that aims to establish intersectional collaboration between social movements. The current network connects about 20 individual groups and organizations in the state of Bremen. Apart from his activism, he is a lecturer and researcher in the field of artificial intelligence at the University of Bremen.