Skip to Content
United States National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health
Animals as Cold Warriors home

| World War II   | Atomic Animals   | Canine Heroes   | Sabotage   | Laika  
Animals as Cold Warriors Home > World War II

World War II


  During the Second World War, medical researchers and antivivisectionists drafted animals, primarily dogs, as partisans in the struggle over animal experimentation. With the rise of Cold War, pervasive anticommunism and fears of atomic annihilation moved animals and animal experimentation to center stage, mediating fierce conflicts over medical research and international politics.

  war and the antivivsection racket   loading patient onto transport
  Medical researchers emphasized the role of animal tests in developing battlefield medicine in order to establish support for continued animal experimentation.
(NLM, MS C 417, Box 73)

  loyalty of war dogs
Click for a larger image.
  Antivivisectionists highlighted the loyalty of war dogs to make the case against animal experimentation. (NLM, MS C 417, Box 12)

Last updated: 24 October 2006
First published: 11 July 2006
Metadata| Permanence level: Permanent: Stable Content