Ask the Author: David Barrie
Answered Questions (6)
David Barrie
Thanks very much for your question, Michiel. I assume you are a relation of Christiaan Perdeck.
I quite agree that Perdeck’s famous displacement studies probably caused no more suffering to individual birds than many of the more recent experiments I describe. But the scale was different. I don’t think displacements involving many thousands of animals would any longer be allowed. I meant no disrespect to Christiaan Perdeck.
I did touch on the ethics of animal experimentation in the preface to Incredible Journeys. But it’s a big and complicated subject. In general the rules governing animal experimentation (which vary a lot) have been getting steadily stricter since the 1950s. I think that’s a good thing, and most of the scientists I have spoken to would certainly agree.
I hope that answers your question. Thanks again for taking the trouble to write.
Best wishes
David Barrie
I quite agree that Perdeck’s famous displacement studies probably caused no more suffering to individual birds than many of the more recent experiments I describe. But the scale was different. I don’t think displacements involving many thousands of animals would any longer be allowed. I meant no disrespect to Christiaan Perdeck.
I did touch on the ethics of animal experimentation in the preface to Incredible Journeys. But it’s a big and complicated subject. In general the rules governing animal experimentation (which vary a lot) have been getting steadily stricter since the 1950s. I think that’s a good thing, and most of the scientists I have spoken to would certainly agree.
I hope that answers your question. Thanks again for taking the trouble to write.
Best wishes
David Barrie
David Barrie
Thanks Emily. Good question! I really enjoyed observing the bogong moth experiments that I describe in Supernavigators, as well as talking to the many scientists I interviewed about their work. If I were starting out again I might well be tempted to carry out research on insects but to be honest I’m not sure I’m patient enough!
David Barrie
I suddenly realised that the great art of celestial navigation had (almost) become an irrelevance and that nobody had even noticed. I wanted to remind people how important it had once been and how much we stood to lose if we turned our backs on it completely.
David Barrie
I just follow my interests and see where they take me.
David Barrie
A book about the science of animal navigation
David Barrie
Sorry for this slow response, Adam. Thanks very much for getting in touch. I’d be very interested to see your notes about Matthew Flinders. If you use Twitter we could make contact that way. My handle is @sextantnav
Best wishes
David
Best wishes
David
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