To the editor:

Politics will surely play a huge part in the federal government’s final choice for the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), and Kansans may be fortunate if another state wins the bid game. (“NBAF contest may turn political,” Journal-World, Nov. 3.)

What no state or experimental laboratory can guarantee is that ugly, deadly infectious diseases like ebola and anthrax won’t escape into the community. In fact, the only guarantee is that there will be immeasurable suffering for animals whose screams and death throes won’t be heard or seen through the locked biosafety doors. The deadly viruses and bacteria used to infect the poor animals cannot be so well-contained.

Mary Beth Sweetland,

director, research and investigations,In Defense of Animals,

San Rafael, Calif.