Bioethics and Medical Ethics Commons^™

Report Of The Working Group On Animal Distress In The Laboratory, Marilyn Brown, Larry Carbone, Kathleen Conlee, Marian Dawkins, Ian J. Duncan, David Fraser, Gilly Griffin, Victoria A. Hampshire, Lesley A. Lambert, Joy A. Mench, David Morton, Jon Richmond, Bernard E. Rollin, Andrew N. Rowan, Martin L. Stephens, Hanno Würbel

Laboratory Experiments Collection

Finding ways to minimize pain and distress in research animals is a continuing goal in the laboratory animal research field. Pain and distress, however, are not synonymous, and often measures that alleviate one do not affect the other. Here, the authors provide a summary of a meeting held in February 2004 that focused on distress in laboratory animals. They discuss the difficulties associated with defining ‘distress,’ propose methods to aid in recognizing and alleviating distressful conditions, and provide recommendations for animal research conduct and oversight that would minimize distress experienced by laboratory animals.

The Ethics Of Referral, Bernard Rollin

Professional Veterinary Ethics Collection

The rapid growth of veterinary specialty practices has created a number of vexatious ethical issues relevant to veterinary medicine. The preeminent question pertains to “the duty to refer.” Do primary care practitioners have such a moral duty? If so, when does this duty arise? Does it pertain in all cases where specialized knowledge is relevant to a disease?

This raises the fundamental question of “Veterinary Ethics” — namely, does the veterinarian ideally have primary obligation to the client/owner or the animal? (1) There are 2 possible ideal types that a veterinarian can aim for — the Garage Mechanic Model or …

Ethics Of Critical Care, Bernard E. Rollin

Experimentation Collection

No abstract provided.

Carbon Dioxide For Euthanasia: Concerns Regarding Pain And Distress, With Special Reference To Mice And Rats, Kathleen Conlee, Martin Stephens, Andrew N. Rowan, Lesley A. King

Laboratory Experiments Collection

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the most commonly used agent for euthanasia of laboratory rodents, used on an estimated tens of millions of laboratory rodents per year worldwide, yet there is a growing body of evidence indicating that exposure to CO₂ causes more than momentary pain and distress in these and other animals. We reviewed the available literature on the use of CO₂ for euthanasia (as well as anaesthesia) and also informally canvassed laboratory animal personnel for their opinions regarding this topic. Our review addresses key issues such as CO₂ flow rate and final concentration, presence …

Acute Toxicity Testing Without Animals: More Scientific And Less Of A Gamble, Gillian R. Langley

Application of Alternative Methods Collection

In this report, we argue specifically that acute toxicity data should not be sought from animal tests. The underlying principle of such tests on rats and mice is that the results can be effectively extrapolated to humans. In fact, after nearly 80 years of use of these tests, the predictivity of rodent data for human acute toxic effects has been disputed but never proven.

Chimpanzees In Research: Past, Present, And Future, Kathleen Conlee, Sarah T. Boysen

State of the Animals 2005

Although the welfare of chimpanzees encompasses many issues, this chapter addresses their use in research, including their historical and current use in the United States, ethical and scientific concerns, public opinion, international legislation, and future directions.

The Future Of Teratology Research Is In Vitro, Jarrod Bailey, Andrew Knight, Jonathan Balcombe

Experimentation Collection

Birth defects induced by maternal exposure to exogenous agents during pregnancy are preventable, if the agents themselves can be identified and avoided. Billions of dollars and manhours have been dedicated to animal-based discovery and characterisation methods over decades. We show here, via a comprehensive systematic review and analysis of this data, that these methods constitute questionable science and pose a hazard to humans. Mean positive and negative predictivities barely exceed 50%; discordance among the species used is substantial; reliable extrapolation from animal data to humans is impossible, and virtually all known human teratogens have so far been identified in spite …

Ld50 Testing Of Botulinum Toxin For Use As A Cosmetic, Martin L. Stephens, Michael Balls

Experimentation Collection

In 2003, the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments (FRAME) revealed that the potency of botulinum toxin for use as a popular wrinkle treatment is assessed by using the LD50 Test. The endpoint in this mouse-based testing is death through suffocation. In 2004, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) sought to work with Allergan, the US-based manufacturer of Botox® Cosmetic, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on ways to refine, reduce, and replace this LD50 testing. This article summarises The HSUS’s campaign in the United States and provides an update on FRAME’s continuing …

Ideology Masquerading As Science: The Case Of Endocrine Disrupter Screening Programmes, Troy Seidle

Experimentation Collection

The global move to develop novel testing methods and strategies to identify suspected endocrine disrupting chemicals offers a unique opportunity to move away from traditional animal testing paradigms in this new area of regulatory concern. Regrettably, the programmes under development, both in the USA and internationally through the OECD, have thus far failed to consider in vitro and other nonanimal test methods as more than “pre-screening” or “priority-setting” tools in a larger, animal-based testing strategy. Validation efforts to date have focused almost exclusively on the modification of existing animal tests to detect “endocrine effects”, with no demonstrable effort to promote …

Medical Training Using Simulation: Toward Fewer Animals And Safer Patients, Jonathan Balcombe

Experimentation Collection

This paper presents the current status of computer-based simulation in medicine. Recent technological advances have enabled this field to emerge from esoteric explorations in academic laboratories to commercially available simulators designed to train users to perform medical procedures from start to finish. Today, more than a dozen companies are producing virtual reality simulators and interactive manikins for training in endoscopy, laparoscopy, anaesthesia, trauma management, angiography, and needle insertion. For many of these procedures, thousands of animals are still being used in training. Yet simulation has many advantages that can transcend scientific, ethical, economic and logistical problems that arise when using …

Levels Of Citation Of Nonhuman Animal Studies Conducted At A Canadian Research Hospital, Anne Innis Dagg, Troy K. Seidle

Experimentation Collection

The publication of scientific articles that receive few or no citations raises questions of the appropriate use of resources as well as ethics. In the case of animal research, the ethics issue extends beyond human patients to nonhuman animals, as the research subjects them to pain and, typically, to death. This study is a citation analysis of animal research conducted at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children (HSC). Of the 594 publications (1990 to 1995) on animal research by affiliates of HSC, 29% received Iower than 10 citations in a 10-year period. We compare the research history of 13 "best" and …

Animals And Alternatives: Societal Expectations And Scientific Need, Alan M. Goldberg

Experimentation Collection

As Russell and Burch suggested more than 40 years ago, the most humane science is the best science. The path ahead is clear: pain and distress must be eliminated in animal experiments or reduced to an absolute minimum, and, as scientists, we must use the most humane approaches in our research. To accomplish the best science, we must train those who come after us in the principles and practice of humane science.

Toxicology And New Social Ethics For Animals, Bernard E. Rollin

Experimentation Collection

The issue of animal treatment has emerged as a major social concern over the past three decades. This ramified in a new ethic for animal treatment that goes beyond concern about cruelty and attempts to eliminate animal pain and suffering, whatever its source. This is evidenced by laws governing animal research in many countries. Insofar as toxicology can entail significant and prolonged animal suffering, it is at loggerheads with this new ethic. Ways are suggested for the toxicological community to put itself in harmony with the ethic and thereby preserve its autonomy.

Modern Elements Of Informed Consent For General Veterinary Practitioners, Martin J. Fettman, Bernard Rollin

Professional Veterinary Ethics Collection

No abstract provided.

The Use And Abuse Of Aesculapian Authority In Veterinary Medicine, Bernard Rollin

Professional Veterinary Ethics Collection

No abstract provided.

The Importance Of Ethics In Conservation Biology: Let's Be Ethicists Not Ostriches, Marc Bekoff

Ecology Collection

No abstract provided.

Possibilities For Refinement And Reduction: Future Improvements Within Regulatory Testing, Martin L. Stephens, Kathleen Conlee, Gina Alvino, Andrew N. Rowan

Experimentation Collection

Approaches and challenges to refining and reducing animal use in regulatory testing are reviewed. Regulatory testing accounts for the majority of animals reported in the most painful and/or distressful categories in the United States and Canada. Refinements in testing, including the use of humane endpoints, are of increasing concern. Traditional approaches to reduction (e.g., improving experimental design) are being supplemented with complementary approaches, such as the use of tier testing to eliminate some chemicals prior to in vivo testing. Technological advances in telemetry and noninvasive techniques will help decrease either the demand for animals in testing or animal suffering. Further …

Anatomy And Three-Dimensional Reconstructions Of The Brain Of A Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus) From Magnetic Resonance Images, Lori Marino, Keith D. Sudheimer, Timothy L. Murphy, Kristina K. Davis, D. Ann Pabst, William A. Mclellan, James K. Rilling, John I. Johnson

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

Cetacean (dolphin, whale, and porpoise) brains are among the least studied mammalian brains because of the formidability of collecting and histologically preparing such relatively rare and large specimens. Magnetic resonance imaging offers a means of observing the internal structure of the brain when traditional histological procedures are not practical. Furthermore, internal structures can be analyzed in their precise anatomic positions, which is difficult to accomplish after the spatial distortions often accompanying histological processing. In this study, images of the brain of an adult bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, were scanned in the coronal plane at 148 antero-posterior levels. From these scans …

Magnetic Resonance Imaging And Three-Dimensional Reconstructions Of The Brain Of A Fetal Common Dolphin, Delphinus Delphis, Lori Marino, Timothy L. Murphy, Lyad Gozal, John I. Johnson

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

To demonstrate the kinds of data that can be obtained non-destructively and non-invasively from preserved museum specimens using modern imaging technology the head region of a whole body fetal specimen of the common dolphin, Delphinus delphis, aged 8–9 months post-conception, was scanned using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Series of scans were obtained in coronal, sagittal and horizontal planes. A digital three-dimensional reconstruction of the whole brain was prepared from the coronal series of scans. Sectional areas and three-dimensional volumes were obtained of the cerebral hemispheres and of the brainstemplus-cerebellum. Neuroanatomical features identified in the scans include the major sulci of …

The First Forty Years Of The Alternatives Approach: Refining, Reducing, And Replacing The Use Of Laboratory Animals, Martin L. Stephens, Alan M. Goldberg, Andrew N. Rowan

State of the Animals 2001

The concept of the Three Rs— reduction, refinement, and replacement of animal use in biomedical experimentation—stems from a project launched in 1954 by a British organization, the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW). UFAW commissioned William Russell and Rex Burch to analyze the status of humane experimental techniques involving animals. In 1959 these scientists published a book that set out the principles of the Three Rs, which came to be known as alternative methods. Initially, Russell and Burch’s book was largely ignored, but their ideas were gradually picked up by the animal protection community in the 1960s and early ’70s. …

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 …

Dissection: The Scientific Case For Alternatives, Jonathan Balcombe

Experimentation Collection

This article presents the scientific argument that learning methods that replace traditional nonhuman animal-consumptive methods in life science education—so-called alternatives to dissection—are pedagogically sound and probably superior to dissection. This article focuses on the pedagogy, a learning method’s effectiveness for conveying knowledge.

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.

Animal Activist Urges Vets To Be Activists Too, Henry Spira

Commentaries and Editorials

No abstract provided.

The Three Rs: The Way Forward, Michael Balls, Alan M. Goldberg, Julia H. Fentem, Caren L. Broadhead, Rex L. Burch, Michael F.W. Festing, John M. Frazier, Coenraad F.M. Hendriksen, Margaret Jennings, Margot D.O. Van Der Kamp, David B. Morton, Andrew N. Rowan, Claire Russell, William M.S. Russell, Horst Spielmann, Martin Stephens, William S. Stokes, Donald W. Straughan, James D. Yager, Joanne Zurlo, Bert F.M. Van Zutphen

Experimentation Collection

This is the report of the eleventh of a series of workshops organised by the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM), which was established in 1991 by the European Commission. ECVAM's main goal, as defined in 1993 by its Scientific Advisory Committee, is to promote the scientific and regulatory acceptance of alternative methods which are of importance to the biosciences and which reduce, refine or replace the use of laboratory animals. One of the first priorities set by ECVAM was the implementation of procedures which would enable it to become well-informed about the state-of-the-art of non-animal test …

The Animal Research Controversy: Protest, Process & Public Policy, Andrew N. Rowan, Franklin M. Loew, Joan C. Weer

eBooks

The controversy today regarding the use of animals in research appears on the surface to be a strongly polarized struggle between the scientific community and the animal protection movement. However, there is a wide range of opinions and philosophies on both sides. Mistrust between the factions has blossomed while communication has withered. Through the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, the animal movement grew in numbers and financial resources, and developed much greater public recognition and political clout. The research community paid relatively little attention to the animal movement for much of this period but, alarmed by several public relations coups …

An Ethicist's Commentary On Whether Veterinarians Should Report Cruelty, Bernard E. Rollin

Animal Welfare Collection

No abstract provided.

The Next Decade: A Shifting Focus, Henry Spira

Commentaries and Editorials

No abstract provided.

Concepts Of Animal Well-Being And Predicting The Impact Of Procedures On Experimental Animals, D. J. Mellor, C. S. W. Reid

Experimental Research and Animal Welfare Collection

1. We argue that:

• in their application to non-human animals, 'welfare' and 'well-being' are interchangeable words; and that

• good welfare/well-being is the state of being manifest in an animal when its nutritional, environmental, health, behavioural and mental needs are met.

2. These latter are essentially the 'five freedoms' formulated by the Farm Animal Welfare Council of the United Kingdom.

3. Using the five freedoms as a basis, we have developed a system for assessing the impact of a proposed animal experiment or usage. The freedoms are now transformed into 'domains of potential compromise' and are redefined better to …

Alternatives In The 90'S: What's Next?, Henry Spira

Conference Presentations

The 80's was a decade of remarkable and innovative research and development of alternatives. We see the 90’s as the decade of validation and implementation.

From an activist's perspective, the 80's was very encouraging,-- alternatives gained acceptance, legitimacy and credibility within the toxicology, corporate and regulatory communities. And The Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) at Johns Hopkins University played a significant role in making this acceptance possible.

But these new technologies have yet to realize their full potential; the focus to date has been on development more than on bringing these technologies into routine usage. And the public, …