Slaughter of the Innocent, by Hans Ruesch

 

 

The author of Slaughter of the Innocent, Hans Ruesch was at the start of the 1970's a successful author of novels, which included Top of the World, South of the Heart, The Stealers, The Game, and Back to the Top of the World, as well as editor of a series of medical books in Italy called the Health's Handbooks.

 

It was at this time that Ruesch discovered the existence of vivisection because of a badly scarred kitten he came in contact with, and which apparently had been rescued from a vivisection laboratory. His instincts told him that him it was very unlikely that medical research would ever or could ever progress whilst medical research was being conducted on animals.

 

 

In 1973 Ruesch vowed that he would never again write fiction whilst vivisection continued, and he has continued to fight the practice ever since, disregarding advancing old age and numerous court cases.

 

In 1974 he founded his Centre for Scientific Information on Vivisection (CIVIS), and this was followed by the publication of the English language version of Slaughter of the Innocent in 1978, it's follow up Naked Empress in 1982, and later on 1000 Doctors (and many more) Against Vivisection.

 

Slaughter of the Innocent was warmly welcomed by many within the medical profession and the anti-vivisection movement, who realised that its strong abolitionist stance, based upon sound scientific principles, whilst backed up by strong emotional arguments, was finally the weapon they sought in the battle to end the atrocious pseudo-scientific practice of vivisection.

 

At the time the opposition to vivisection had become largely non existent following the demise of the founders of the anti-vivisection organisations decades earlier, and which had by and large nothing new to say for years.

 

It was upon the publication of Slaughter, however, that Ruesch discovered the main stumbling block towards any advancement of the battle to end vivisection: the anti-vivisection societies themselves!

 

The complete story of how Britain's 'anti-vivisection' societies effectively banned this new powerful weapon in the fight to end vivisection can be found within the preface of the latest edition of Slaughter, as well as within the two Bulletins and Foundation Reports that Ruesch's CIVIS organisation produced as updates following his three anti-vivisection books, and which have been almost in their entirety been added to this web site. Needless to say we consider them to be essential reading.

 

It is undeniable that despite the suppression of Slaughter of the Innocent, the book has revolutionised the anti-vivisection movement, even if many within that movement today are unaware of this fact. It has been said that no one who reads Slaughter will ever feel quite the same way again, and this I am sure is true. Numerous anti-vivisection societies have been founded based upon the principles contained within this book, and it's influence has been felt around the world.

 

Recently, Hans Ruesch was included in Stuart Hirschberg's book ‘Past to Present: Ideas That Changed Our World’, as one of humanity's luminaries, along with such figures as Keats, Shaw, Orwell, Herodotus, Carlyle, Darwin, Hoyle, Plato, Sartre, Aristotle, Ruskin and Flaubert, to name just a few. Certainly Ruesch is in good company here.

 

However, it is perhaps the fact that his books have been suppressed even by those whom at first glance would, one think, welcome such a book, is an indication of just how powerful Slaughter of the Innocent is, and how determined those it targets are to keep it from being read.

 

A few reviews of Slaughter of the Innocent:

 

"Born of a rare blend of high intelligence, sound but unstuffy scholarship, a strong capacity for pity and empathy, allied to a striking literary skill, Slaughter of the Innocent constitutes the 20th century's single most powerful indictment of vivisection - the experimentation with and upon living animals." - Dr Tony Page, author of Vivisection Unveiled.

 

"Hans Ruesch's magnificent book washed away the thin excuses for doctor-apologists for animal testing. Comprehensively and carefully documented, objective, yet emotionally compelling… All of us - including future generations - are in his debt." - Robert Mendelsohn MD

 

"The evidence assembled by Hans Ruesch is so massive and impressive that it leaves the reader breathless." - The Italian Il Tempo

 

"The book demonstrates that the claims of the vivisection are a monstrous fraud, due to the coalition of an almighty pharmaceutical industry and a medical practice which has turned its back on Hippocrates." - The French Lyon-Matin

 

"A tremendous persuasiveness and an exceptional competence emanate from this book." - The Swiss Nebelspalter

 

See many more reviews on the last page of the first CIVIS Bulletin

 

Latest edition 2003 by Slingshot publications, 444 pages

 

Preface by Marco Mamone Capria PhD, University of Perugia, Italy,

and Martin J Walker, MA, London, England.

 

The latest edition has a slightly larger typeface than previous editions but retains the page layout, thus ensuring continuity of reference.