Question: Mel do you get much hastle from enviromentalists because you are experimenting with live animals?

Melissa Brereton answered on 14 Mar 2013:

hmmm, to be honest, it is not something I discuss openly. Even my closest friends who are not scientists do not know that I experiment with live animals. I think that it is really important for people to understand what we do and why and in general, it is the false information that people read in the media that causes them to have a very negative opinion about the subject. Some animal rights activists are very passionate and can be aggressive and violent towards scientists who research on animals and when we have to pass our exams to perform this type of research, we are advised about what we should and shouldn’t tell people about our research. I think if people spent a day watching what we do, how the animals are care for, their opinions would change a lot!