Ulema excuse themselves generally from providing opinions in fields they don't have expertise like medicine, science etc and people too rightly do not seek their opinions in these things. BUT, why do people ask/accept their opinions in political issues. They have little idea of geopolitics. Looking at every political issue as cosmic battle between Truth&Evil or God&Satan can not provide good solutions.
Icono, this is the kind of logic that is taking muslims away from path of truth and righteousness. Ulema are the alims, their opinion on every subject is important. After all I have heard it said that Islam is a way of life. So why can't your imam give opinion on whether a limited amount of animal cruelty be allowed for medical research and testing? Perhaps, mulim leadership needs to evolve in demanding that a Bismillah should be uttered before using an animal in lab testing. It is not ulema should not give an opinion on non-religious subjects, it is that they should acquire knowledge outside of religion and give opinions that interprete Islam in todays evolving world.