Day 034 - 11 Oct 94 - Page 69


     
     1        animal rights organisation in the United States, in
     2        Britain and in other countries.
     3
     4   Q.   It is pretty big, is it not?
     5        A.  It is -- well, its membership is some hundreds of
     6        thousands.
     7
     8   Q.   Some hundreds of thousands.  Your organisation, by which
     9        I mean the Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine,
    10        has a membership, what, of some 3,000 registered
    11        physicians or licensed physicians; is that right?
    12        A.  Our physician membership is just over 3,000, yes.
    13
    14   Q.   Which I expect you would agree is a very tiny percentage
    15        of the number of physicians in the United States?
    16        A.  There are about 600,000 physicians in the United
    17        States.  We certainly have not attempted to represent them
    18        all.
    19
    20   Q.   I understand that, but you have, I think, you told us some
    21        55,000 associate members?
    22        A.  Somewhere along those lines.
    23
    24   Q.   Can you tell me, if you can, what sorts of people or
    25        organisations the associate members are?
    26        A.  They are lay people.
    27
    28   Q.   Lay people?
    29        A.  From any walk of life, although they may also be any
    30        sort of person in the health industry who is not defined
    31        as a physician, for our purposes that is an MD or a DO.
    32        Everyone else is an associate member, so a psychologist,
    33        biologist, a nurse, a research scientist, would be an
    34        associate member or a member of the lay public.
    35
    36   Q.   Do you or your organisation have any connection with the
    37        animal rights organisation which I shall call PETA for
    38        short?
    39        A.  It is pronounced "Peter".
    40
    41   Q.   Sorry, "PETA".
    42        A.  I have been an advisor to them on an informal basis
    43        for a number of years.
    44
    45   Q.   Why?
    46        A.  Why?
    47
    48   Q.   Yes.
    49        A.  What I am asked to do is to provide information and
    50        I sometimes write a column in a magazine, particularly on 
    51        health issues but sometimes on the subject of animal 
    52        research as well. 
    53
    54   Q.   You would not agree, I am sure you would not particularly,
    55        Dr. Barnard, to be an advisor to an organisation whose
    56        objects and activities you disapproved of, would you?
    57        A.  In general terms, no.
    58
    59   Q.   You do not disapprove of the objects and activities of
    60        PETA, do you?

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