Although very few people spoke out against the suffering of animals during that time, there were those who expressed passive opposition towards animal cruelty. Today though, animal rights activists have become more aggressive. Demonstrations, boycotts, laboratory break-ins and the destruction of laboratory equipment has caused researchers to become defensive. They now must justify their experiments to the public. We have come a long way since the seventeenth century.
Today there are laws governing the use of animals in laboratories.
Ontario's Animals for Research Act requires that all research establishments are registered and properly regulated. All of these institutions must meet CCAC standards. During the past decade the number of animals used in medical research has dropped from four million to two million per year. The question of ethics is often lurking at the edge of any discussion on animal research. The statement is often used that if slaughterhouses were made of glass most people would be vegetarians.