Jeffrey Masson

Best-selling Author on the emotional lives of animals

“There is a growing movement in America, in Europe and now in New Zealand to think about our relationship to animals more carefully than we have in the past. The collective values of our Western society are changing rapidly; ecological sustainability is important for the maintenance of human life on our vulnerable planet. The ways we treat animals play a major role in this emerging ethic. Similarly, when we think about equity today we are more inclined than ever to consider the wider community of sentient beings, that is, all other animals, and not just the human animal. We are all embedded in social, cultural and environmental webs that are rapidly expanding; no longer can we simply look to our own personal good without considering that of all other beings who inhabit our planet.”

Professor Philip Armstrong

Postgraduate Co-ordinator (English) University of Canterbury

“Animals & Us offers students and teachers options for engaging with the curriculum by attending to issues that will seem most urgent and vital to young people now; questions of power, violence and justice; the quandaries of consumerism and globalisation; the challenges of animal rights and welfare, and of environmentalism; the impact of technological and scientific manipulation of organic nature. In these ways, the resource helps prepare students for life after secondary school – whether they are planning further study at tertiary level (where these issues are increasingly to the fore in a range of disciplines), joining the workforce, beginning a family, travelling or pursuing any other direction as mature, informed, thoughtful and compassionate members of New Zealand society.”

Joanne Wilson

Palmerston North Girls’ High School

“Thank you so much for putting together resources that would have been almost impossible for me to collate without spending hundreds of hours I don't have in my current position as a classroom teacher. Everything was user friendly! The lesson plans, the great quality of the reprints, the wonderful collection of images and stories on the DVD all helped immensely. I am so grateful to you and your sponsors. This unit was the most enjoyable of the year.”

Dr Annie Potts

Co-Director, New Zealand Centre for Human-Animal Studies - University of Canterbury

“The latest in SAFE’s comprehensive Animals & Us series for high school students focuses on key ethical debates regarding the use of nonhuman animals in scientific experiments. Animals in Science provides a vital resource for science and biology teachers who value and encourage independent scholarship and critical thinking in their students. Incorporating highly engaging, rigorously researched articles from leading biologists and ethologists, this beautifully designed learning resource prompts students to reconsider assumptions about other species and the place of animal experimentation in science. Animals in Science is unique in its inclusion of suggestions for non-invasive assessment projects that will motivate and inspire students to study science. These projects clearly demonstrate the validity and merit of alternatives to dissection and animal experimentation in the classroom. They also show how much fun science can be when it focuses on observing behaviours and sharing the experiences of other beings. I wholeheartedly recommend this exemplary resource to science teachers. I just wish it had been part of my own experience of science at school.”

Susan Yardley

Head of Science and teacher of Biology - Catholic Cathedral College

“ 'Animals in Science: Ethical Arguments and Alternatives to Animal Experiments' is a must have resource for all teachers of Science and especially for Biology teachers. With the implementation of the new Level 1 – 3 NCEA standards, where teachers are in dire need of relevant resources to plan new units of work, this book provides a wealth of ideas, sources of information and ready to use lesson plans. I am already planning on how to use it with my Senior Biology students.”