Animal rights weigh one pound

My first lesson in animal rights was taught to me by a small white rat that I took home from the college psychology lab.

The introductory course in psychology used rats who were deprived of water for three days and then put in a cage that delivers a few drops of water when a bar is pressed by the thirsty animal inside.

The point of the lab was to show how learning occurs - if an animal is rewarded for an action such as pressing a bar, the animal will probably repeat the action. At the end of the course, the rats are put together in a trash can, chloroform is poured over them, and the lid is closed.