Animal Experimentation and Research Commons^™

Addressing Distress And Pain In Animal Research: The Veterinary, Research, Societal, Regulatory And Ethical Contexts For Moving Forward, Kathleen Conlee, Martin Stephens, Andrew N. Rowan

Experimentation Collection

While most people recognize that biomedical scientists are searching for knowledge that will improve the health of humans and animals, the image of someone deliberately causing harm to an animal in order to produce data that may lead to some future benefit has always prompted an uncomfortable reaction outside the laboratory. However, proponents of animal research have usually justified the practice by reference to greater benefits (new knowledge and medical treatments) over lesser costs (in animal suffering and death). Given that one of the costs of animal research is the suffering experienced by the animals, the goal of eliminating distress …

The Role Of Clinical Veterinary Medicine In The Assessment And Treatment Of Laboratory Animal Distress, V. Hampshire

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

It is doubtful that the scientific community will ever arrive at a consensus definition for distress as it may be attempted for the purposes of improving animal welfare in and across the myriad of research, testing and teaching facilities in the United States and throughout the minuet of protocols that exist for animals. The stakeholders in this attempt can however address most causes of physiologic distress by instituting time-honored veterinary and agrarian approaches to animal surveillance. In this manner, the majority of individuals who participate in responsible and humane animal care might be assuaged in that a condition of maximum …

The Validity Of Animal Experiments In Medical Research, Gill Langley

Experimentation Collection

Other animals, such as mice, rats, rabbits, dogs and monkeys, are widely used as surrogates for humans in fundamental medical research. This involves creating disorders in animals by chemical, surgical or genetic means, with the aim of mimicking selected aspects of human illnesses.

It is a truism that any model or surrogate is not identical to the target being modelled. So, in medical research, experiments using animals or cell cultures or even healthy volunteers instead of patients (being the target population with the target illness) will inevitably have limitations, although these will be greater or lesser depending on the model.

The Minimization Of Research Animal Distress And Pain: Conclusions And Recommendations, Kathleen Conlee, Martin Stephens, Andrew N. Rowan

Laboratory Experiments Collection

While the attention given to preventing, assessing, and alleviating pain in research animals has increased noticeably in recent decades, much remains to be done both in terms of implementing best practices and conducting studies to answer outstanding questions. In contrast, the attention to distress (particularly non-pain induced distress) has shown no comparable increase. There are many reasons for this discrepancy, including the conceptual untidiness of the distress concept, the paucity of pharmacological treatments for distress, and perceived lack of regulatory emphasis on distress. These are challenges that need to be addressed and overcome. This book is intended to help meet …