Animal Experimentation and Research Commons^™

The Ethics Of Animal Research: A Survey Of The Public And Scientists In North America, Ari R. Joffe, Meredith Bara, Natalie Anton, Nathan Nobis

Morality and Ethics of Animal Experimentation Collection

Background: To determine whether the public and scientists consider common arguments (and counterarguments) in support (or not) of animal research (AR) convincing.

Methods: After validation, the survey was sent to samples of public (Sampling Survey International (SSI; Canadian), Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT; US), a Canadian city festival and children’s hospital), medical students (two second-year classes), and scientists (corresponding authors, and academic pediatricians). We presented questions about common arguments (with their counterarguments) to justify the moral permissibility (or not) of AR. Responses were compared using Chi-square with Bonferonni correction.

Results: There were 1220 public [SSI, n = 586; AMT, n = …

The Flaws And Human Harms Of Animal Experimentation, Aysha Akhtar

Morality and Ethics of Animal Experimentation Collection

Nonhuman animal (“animal”) experimentation is typically defended by arguments that it is reliable, that animals provide sufficiently good models of human biology and diseases to yield relevant information, and that, consequently, its use provides major human health benefits. I demonstrate that a growing body of scientific literature critically assessing the validity of animal experimentation generally (and animal modeling specifically) raises important concerns about its reliability and predictive value for human outcomes and for understanding human physiology. The unreliability of animal experimentation across a wide range of areas undermines scientific arguments in favor of the practice. Additionally, I show how animal …

The Ethics Of Animal Research: A Survey Of Pediatric Health Care Workers, Ari Joffe, Meredith Bara, Natalie Anton, Nathan Nobis

Experimentation Collection

Introduction: Pediatric health care workers (HCW) often perform, promote, and advocate use of public funds for animal research (AR). We aim to determine whether HCW consider common arguments (and counterarguments) in support (or not) of AR convincing.

Design: After development and validation, an e-mail survey was sent to all pediatricians and pediatric intensive care unit nurses and respiratory therapists (RTs) affiliated with a Canadian University. We presented questions about demographics, support for AR, and common arguments (with their counterarguments) to justify the moral permissibility (or not) of AR. Responses are reported using standard tabulations. Responses of pediatricians and nurses/RTs were …

The Harmful, Nontherapeutic Use Of Animals In Research Is Morally Wrong, Nathan Nobis

Experimentation Collection

It is argued that using animals in research is morally wrong when the research is nontherapeutic and harmful to the animals. This article discusses methods of moral reasoning and discusses how arguments on this and other bioethical issues might be defended and critiqued. A basic method of moral argument analysis is presented and used to show that common objections to the view that “animal research is morally wrong” fail: ie, common arguments for the view that “animal research is morally permissible” are demonstrably unsound or in need of defense. It is argued that the best explanations why harmful, nontherapeutic research …

Toward Genuine Rodent Welfare: Response To Reviewer Comments, Jonathan P. Balcombe

Laboratory Experiments Collection

I’m grateful to the editors for soliciting critiques of my commentary and for the opportunity to respond. Because one of the respondents (Patterson-Kane, 2010/this issue) does not take issue with the main points of my article, whereas the other (Blanchard, 2010/this issue) does, I focus my remarks here mostly on Blanchard’s critique.

Measurement And Mitigation Of Laboratory Animal Distress Sources Of Distress In The Animal Laboratory, Larry Carbone

Laboratory Experiments Collection

Pain and distress differ, but overlap. For the purposes of this discussion, we will consider pain to involve nociceptive input of stimuli that are potentially tissue damaging, and that further include an unpleasant emotional component (Merskey and Bogduk 1994). Pain need not necessarily induce distress, as when an animal or human willingly undergoes some painful situation in order to achieve a desired reward. In that case, while the pain may be unpleasant, it is not so severe as to be intolerable. Likewise, there are many potential causes of distress that do not involve physical pain.

Animal Research: A Review Of Developments, 1950–2000, Andrew N. Rowan, Franklin M. Loew

State of the Animals 2001

The third phase of the animal research debate started around 1950. After World War II the government became a major sponsor of scientific research, including biomedical research. The budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grew dramatically and has continued to grow, with a few minor retrenchment periods, up to the present time (see Figure 1). This growth led to an enormous expansion in publicly funded research. In the private sector, the discovery of penicillin and streptomycin led to a tremendous expansion in pharmaceutical research and in the size of the prescription drug industry. These expansions in government funding …

Harry F. Harlow And Animal Research: Reflection On The Ethical Paradox, John P. Gluck

Experimentation Collection

With respect to the ethical debate about the treatment of animals in biomedical and behavioral research, Harry F. Harlow represents a paradox. On the one hand, his work on monkey cognition and social development fostered a view of the animals as having rich subjective lives filled with intention and emotion. On the other, he has been criticized for the conduct of research that seemed to ignore the ethical implications of his own discoveries. The basis of this contradiction is discussed and propositions for current research practice are presented.

The Case Against The Use Of Animals In Science, Donald J. Barnes

Experimentation Collection

As a scientist long committed to the understanding, prediction, and control of biological, physiological, and behavioral events, I have no objection to the animal as a legitimate focus of science. As a parent, a son, a sibling, and the proud recipient of unconditional positive regard from a few special people, I am vitally interested in matters of health and in the most ethically efficient use of available resources. As a member of a species which has evolved sufficiently to allow the relatively broad perspective of a "web of life" and at least a rudimentary concept of altruism, I have laboriously …

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 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 …

Ethical Concerns In Primate Use And Husbandry, Ardith A. Eudey

Experimentation Collection

Subsequent to World War II, a dramatic increase occurred in the utilization of nonhuman primates in biomedical and psychological research and industry. At the same time field studies on the ecological and social behavior of natural populations of primates also increased, making possible more realistic assessments of both the behavioral potentiality of primate populations and their conservation status. In spite of the growing body of information indicating the endangered or threatened status of most species, many laboratory workers and planning agencies continue to regard primates as renewable resources, even seeking to bypass protective legislation in habitat countries to obtain them. …

Biomedical Research And Animal Welfare: Traditional Viewpoints And Future Directions, Franklin M. Loew

Experimentation Collection

It has been twenty years since C.P. Snow first presented the concept of "The Two Cultures"; referring to the "culture" of scientists and the "culture" of literary intellectuals (mainly writers), Snow said (1969):

... constantly I felt I was moving among two groups- comparable in intelligence, identical in race, not grossly different in social origin, earning about the same incomes, who had almost ceased to communicate at all, who in intellectual, moral and psychological climate had so little in common ...

In some ways, "Two Cultures" goes far to characterize the current state of affairs surrounding those whose scientific endeavors …

Nsmr: Its Image, Direction And Future, J. Russell Lindsey

Experimentation Collection

The point I wish to emphasize is that NSMR, like all of its predecessors representing the scientific community, has consistently maintained a defensive posture while claiming that a// practices of animal use and care within the biomedical community have been "lily white." In my judgment, this has been a major tactical error because abuses of freedoms to use animals in research too frequently have been and continue to be common knowledge (e.g., Science, Editorial, 1976). NSMR's complete unwillingness to face up to these realities and torespond positively to the public's legitimate concerns has led to the inevitable loss of credibility …