Life Sciences Commons^™

The Case For The Use Of Animals In Science, James A. Will

Experimentation Collection

Animals are now used extensively in research and teaching, and the appropriateness of their use appears to be questioned. Some people believe that we are in a new era where the animal activists have become much more influential, and that the antagonism between the scientists and these groups is worse than it ever has been. This does not appear to be the case. The preeminence of various influences seems rather cyclic, even perhaps influenced by such things as economic conditions or wars. At present, the question is often asked, "Should we continue to use animals in science?" The real question …

The Cruel Deception, Robert Sharpe

Experimentation Collection

With new legislation to replace the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 near at hand, the powerful vested interest groups whose profits and livelihood depend on laboratory animals are stepping up their campaigns to ensure the survival of vivisection. Have the benefits really been so great, and can vivisection achieve major advances in our present state of health?

History shows (McKeown 1979) that the real reasons for the dramatic increase in life expectancy since the middle of the last century are improvements in nutrition, living and working conditions, hygiene and sanitation, with medical measures only having a relatively marginal effect. The …

Ethics, Welfare, And Laboratory Animal Management, David J. Allan, Judith K. Blackshaw

Experimentation Collection

Animals have been used in medical research from as far back as 129-199 A.D. when Galen, a Greek medical scientist, used a pig for his experiments. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, anatomical dissections were carried out on animals; Galvani used frogs in 1791 for his experiments and the Russian physiologist, Pavlov, carried out his famous dog experiments in the early 1900s. Since this time, large numbers of animals have been used in biomedical and other research. In 1963 the first edition of "The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals" was published, and the United States Public …

The Case For The Use Of Animals In Medicine, Gary F. Merrill

Experimentation Collection

The use of animals in medical research and teaching, and the public concern this has generated is not a new issue (Visscher 1969). Ever since scientists began using animals to investigate the function of the body in health and disease, there have been those who opposed their work (Fishman and Richards 1982). Whether this controversy is cyclic is not known, but most concerned biomedical investigators agree that the opposition is here to stay. The author shares this opinion, and thus maintains that it is in the best interest of all parties to be properly educated on the issues. Only through …