US animal rights activist barred from Britain

The Guardian reports that Jerry Vlasak, an animal rights activists who has apparently condoned the killing of scientists involved in animal research, has been refused entry to Britain by the Home Secretary, on the grounds that his exclusion would be "conducive to the public good". Vlasak was due to speak at a conference organised by Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, a group which advocates intimidating firms who work with, supply, or fund animal researchers.

There are several separate questions to consider here. First, is animal experimentation wrong; secondly, are the methods of SHAC wrong; and thirdly, is it wrong to ban Dr Vlasak because of it?

Where do bioethicists get their funding?

Bioethic$ Inc. is a very interesting essay pointing out that, increasingly, bioethicists are being paid by the corporations they are meant to be criticising. The trouble is that it's all very well being trained to work out what is right and what is wrong, and telling the companies all about it, but people have to eat and someone's got to pay for it. If not the companies you're talking to, then whom?