Science allows us to adopt dual standards in our attitude to animal welfare.We pay qualified researchers to conduct animal experiments that would land the rest of us in jail if we performed them on the family pet.Society sets limits on how animals can be treated in medical or agricultural research based on the delicate balance between the practical value of the information sought and the pain and suffering inflicted.In my opinion that's reasonable,but killing or mutilating animals for pure intellectual curiosity is not. Science allows us to adopt dual standards in our attitude to animal welfare. We pay qualified researchers to conduct animal experiments that would land the rest of us in jail if we performed them on the family pet. Society sets limits on how animals can be treated in medical or agricultural research , based on the delicate balance between the practical value of the information sought and the pain and suffering inflicted. In my opinion that's reasonable, but killing or mutilating animals for pure intellectual curiosity is not