Abstract
Footnotes Competing interest The BMJ hardly ever publishes animal research. This is not because we are against animal research but rather because we favour research that may have results that are directly applicable for clinicians and those making public policy. While doing a degree in experimental pathology in 1973 I implanted stem cell leukaemias into rats. I wrote this editorial a few days after our pet rabbit was killed by a fox. Her death upset me much more than I ever expected.