animals in research essay

Ethical care for research animals

WHY ANIMAL RESEARCH?

The use of animals in some forms of biomedical research remains essential to the discovery of the causes, diagnoses, and treatment of disease and suffering in humans and in animals., stanford shares the public's concern for laboratory research animals..

Many people have questions about animal testing ethics and the animal testing debate. We take our responsibility for the ethical treatment of animals in medical research very seriously. At Stanford, we emphasize that the humane care of laboratory animals is essential, both ethically and scientifically.  Poor animal care is not good science. If animals are not well-treated, the science and knowledge they produce is not trustworthy and cannot be replicated, an important hallmark of the scientific method .

There are several reasons why the use of animals is critical for biomedical research: 

••  Animals are biologically very similar to humans. In fact, mice share more than 98% DNA with us!

••  Animals are susceptible to many of the same health problems as humans – cancer, diabetes, heart disease, etc.

••  With a shorter life cycle than humans, animal models can be studied throughout their whole life span and across several generations, a critical element in understanding how a disease processes and how it interacts with a whole, living biological system.

The ethics of animal experimentation

Nothing so far has been discovered that can be a substitute for the complex functions of a living, breathing, whole-organ system with pulmonary and circulatory structures like those in humans. Until such a discovery, animals must continue to play a critical role in helping researchers test potential new drugs and medical treatments for effectiveness and safety, and in identifying any undesired or dangerous side effects, such as infertility, birth defects, liver damage, toxicity, or cancer-causing potential.

U.S. federal laws require that non-human animal research occur to show the safety and efficacy of new treatments before any human research will be allowed to be conducted.  Not only do we humans benefit from this research and testing, but hundreds of drugs and treatments developed for human use are now routinely used in veterinary clinics as well, helping animals live longer, healthier lives.

It is important to stress that 95% of all animals necessary for biomedical research in the United States are rodents – rats and mice especially bred for laboratory use – and that animals are only one part of the larger process of biomedical research.

Our researchers are strong supporters of animal welfare and view their work with animals in biomedical research as a privilege.

Stanford researchers are obligated to ensure the well-being of all animals in their care..

Stanford researchers are obligated to ensure the well-being of animals in their care, in strict adherence to the highest standards, and in accordance with federal and state laws, regulatory guidelines, and humane principles. They are also obligated to continuously update their animal-care practices based on the newest information and findings in the fields of laboratory animal care and husbandry.  

Researchers requesting use of animal models at Stanford must have their research proposals reviewed by a federally mandated committee that includes two independent community members.  It is only with this committee’s approval that research can begin. We at Stanford are dedicated to refining, reducing, and replacing animals in research whenever possible, and to using alternative methods (cell and tissue cultures, computer simulations, etc.) instead of or before animal studies are ever conducted.

Organizations and Resources

There are many outreach and advocacy organizations in the field of biomedical research.

• Learn more about outreach and advocacy organizations

Stanford Discoveries

What are the benefits of using animals in research? Stanford researchers have made many important human and animal life-saving discoveries through their work. 

• Learn more about research discoveries at Stanford

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• Book Review
• Published: 01 November 2001

Why Animal Experimentation Matters: The Use of Animals in Medical Research

• Judith K Blackshaw 1  

Heredity volume  87 ,  page 609 ( 2001 ) Cite this article

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Why Animal Experimentation Matters: The Use of Animals in Medical Research.

E. F. Paul and J. Paul. Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, USA. 2001. Pp. 224. Price $49.95, hardback. ISBN 0-7658-0025-X

This thought-provoking book comes out of the Social Philosophy and Policy Foundation, an independent corporation established to promote advanced research in political philosophy and in philosophical analysis of public policy questions. The use of animals for medical research is being threatened by animal rights activists who propose severe restrictions or abolition of experimental work.

In their essays, the eleven American authors challenge many flawed perceptions promoted by animal rights groups. These include misrepresentation of historical facts, and the contributions to human and animal health, by the use of experimental animals. Fortunately, activists efforts so far have not slowed down progress of biomedical and pharmacological research. In much of the world with epidemiological and nutritional challenges any animal activist agenda to shut down or hinder animal research is, as one author comments “fanatical, even suicidal”. Several authors go further and argue that to deny much of the world's population hope for vaccines and other medical cures is inhumanity towards humans.

Some animal rights groups concede that applied research is justifiable but that basic research should be prohibited. As the author of one essay points out, this view jeopardises both the advancement of knowledge and the remediation of human disease.

The question is raised of how human and animal interests can be balanced. The European view gives greater significance to animal interests than the American approach. However, both are closer to the human-priority view than either the UK or German statutes, which are more towards equality in human and animal interests.

Several authors argue from the evolutionary perspective in defending animal experimentation. They suggest that to disallow the acquisition of medical and agricultural knowledge would be a maladaptive strategy, that may endanger human survival. The philosophical bases of the animal rights groups are discussed and the reader is required to carefully follow often unfamiliar arguments. However the end result is well worthwhile.

At the end of the book's introduction the hope is expressed that, ‘these essays will advance public debate on this vital issue.’ It is hard to imagine that the general public will read such a book, but hopefully the scientists and students who carry out animal based research will use the arguments when explaining and justifying their research.

There is a useful index and I found the endnotes for each chapter interesting. I would have liked an alphabetical list of literature references at the end of the book.

It becomes evident after reading this book that animal rights movements are only sustainable in affluent societies. It is the responsibility of these societies to work towards the alleviation of diseases, which much of the world suffers. This book should be welcomed by the research communities in all countries where animal based research is conducted.

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Should Animals Be Used for Research: an Argumentative Perspective

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Should Animals be Used in Research: Argumentative Essay

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Should animals be used in research? This argumentative essay aims to answer the question. It focuses on pros and cons of animal testing for scientific and medical goals.

Introduction

• The Arguments

Works Cited

All over the world, animal activists and institutions have argued whether or not research should be used on animals or should be outlawed. Philosophers believe that experiments on animals are not morally justified because they cause pain or harm the animals. A group of these philosophers believe that other alternatives are available, thus they claim that because we have other alternatives, the use of animals in research should be outlawed.

Should Animals Be Used in Research? The Arguments

In my opinion, I support the line of argument that animals should not be used in research. Since the discovery of knowing through science (research), the use of animals in research has elicited mixed reactions among different scholars. Philosophers are against the idea citing the availability of other options for toxicological tests on animals and the harsh treatments the scientists have accorded these animals in the medical tests. Unless scientists discover other ways of testing medicines, I think tests on animals are unethical.

Scientists use these creatures to validate a theory and then revise or change their theories depending on the new facts or information gained from every test performed. Animal rights lobby groups believe that animals are used for no reasons in these experiments as the animals endure pain inflicted on them during these tests (Singer 2). They tend to overlook the fact that animals have moral existence, social and religious values. Thousands of animals on this planet contribute largely to the aesthetic appeal of the land.

On the other hand, scientists only see the positive contributions of animal tests to the medical field and ignore the side effects of the tests on the animals’ lives. They overlook the idea that animals are hurt and thus suffer tremendously.

To them the impact of the research on the lives of their families and friends by coming up with vaccines and drugs is the inspiration. Research on animals should be banned because it inflicts pain, harms the culprits and morally it is unjustified. Has man ever wondered whether or not animals feel similar pain that humans feel? (Singer 2).

Human beings know very well that they themselves feel pain. For example, you will know that a metal rod is hot by touching it with bare hands. It is believed that pain is mental; in other words it cannot be seen. We feel pain and we realize that other creatures also feel pain from observations like jerking away from an event or even yelling.

Since the reactions are the same as those of man, philosophers say that animals feel similar pain just like humans. Animal activists reaffirm that the major undoing of tests involving animals is the manner in which the animals are treated arguing that anesthesia for suppressing the pain is never used.

However, as many people are opposed to the use of animals in research, many lives have been saved every year due to their death. I think that instead of refuting that taking away the life of a rat is unethical, harms the animal; I believe it is a bold step in improving the welfare of millions of people for thousands of years to come. Tests on animals are the most common toxicological tests used by scientists; the findings help to better lives for hundreds of people across the universe (Fox 12).

Fox, Michael A. The Case for Animal Experimentation. California: University of California Press, 1986.

Singer, Peter. Animal Liberation. New York: Random House, 1975.

• Should animals be used for scientific research?
• Definition of Animal Rights and Its Problems
• An Argumentative Essay: How to Write
• Writing Argumentative Essay With Computer Aided Formulation
• Animal Testing: Should Animal Testing Be Allowed? — Argumentative Essay
• Ethical Problems of the Animal Abuse
• The Debate About Animal Rights
• Animal Cloning Benefits and Controversies
• Use of Animals in Research Testing: Ethical Justifications Involved
• Experimentation on Animals
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2018, December 27). Should Animals be Used in Research: Argumentative Essay. https://ivypanda.com/essays/should-animals-be-used-in-research/

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show/hide words to know

Computer model: a computer program designed to predict what might happen based off of collected data.

Ethical: relating to a person's moral principles.

Morals: a person's beliefs concerning what is right and wrong.

Zoologist: a person who studies animals.

Scientists learn a lot about snakes and other animals through basic research. Image by the Virginia State Park staff.

“Don’t worry, they aren’t dangerous” you hear the zoologist say as she leads you and a group of others toward an area with a number of different snakes. She removes a long snake from a larger glass enclosure and asks who would like to hold it. You take a step back, certain that holding a snake is the last thing you’d like to do.

"But how do you know they aren’t dangerous?” you ask. The zoologist looks up and smiles. She explains that scientists have studied this type of snake, and so we actually know quite a bit about it. This type of snake rarely bites and does not produce venom, so it isn’t dangerous to people. You nod along as she talks about the snakes, their natural habitats, and other details like what they eat.

Animals in the Research Process

How do we know so much about snakes or other animals? Animals are all unique, and scientists study them to learn more about them. For example, by studying snakes we have learned that they stick their tongues out because they are trying to pick up odors around them. This helps them sense food, predators, and other things that may be nearby. When research is performed to expand our understanding of something, like an animal, we call it basic research .

Scientists study animals for other reasons too. What we learn about animals can actually help us find solutions to other problems or to help people. For example, studying snakes helps us understand which ones are venomous so that humans know what kinds of snakes they shouldn't touch. Scientists also study animals to find new treatments to diseases and other ailments that affect both people and animals. If we learn what is in snake venom, we can create a medicine to give to people that have been bitten as a treatment to help them feel better. Using what we know about an animal or thing to help us solve problems or treat disease is called  applied research .

Scientists use many other tools, such as computer models, in addition to animals to study different topics. Image by Andreas Horn.

No matter what type of research is being performed, scientists must consider many things when they study animals.  

Do Scientists Need to Study Animals?

Of course we can learn a lot from using animals for research, but are there alternative options? Sometimes there are. For example, scientists could use some other method, like cells or computer models, to study a particular topic instead of using animals. However, for a number of reasons , scientists have found that using animals is sometimes the best way to study certain topics.

What If Scientists Harm Animals for Research?

Some research using animals only requires scientists to watch behavior or to take a few samples (like blood or saliva) from the animal. These activities may cause the animals some stress, but they are unlikely to harm the animals in any long-term way. Studies of the behavior or physiology of an animal in its natural environment is an example of such research.

In other cases, scientists may need to harm or kill an animal in order to answer a research question. For example, a study could involve removing a brain to study it more closely or giving an animal a treatment without knowing what effects it may have. While the intention is never to purposely harm animals, harm can be necessary to answer a research question.

How Do Scientists Decide When It’s OK to Study Animals?

Many animals are used in research. But there is still debate on whether they should be used for this purpose. Image by the United States Department of Agriculture.

There are  many guidelines  for when it’s ok to use animals in research. Scientists must write a detailed plan of why and how they plan to use animals for a research project. This information is then reviewed by other scientists and members of the public to make sure that the research animals will be used for has an important purpose. Whatever the animals are used for, the scientists also make sure to take care of animal research subjects as best as they can.

Even with rules in place about using animals for research, many people (both scientists and non-scientists) continue to debate whether animals should be used in research. This is an ethical question, or one that depends on a person's morals. Because the way each person feels about both research and animals may be different, there is a range of views on this matter.

• Some people argue that it doesn’t matter that there are rules in place to protect animals. Animals should never be used for research at all, for any reason. 
• Others say we should be able to use animals for any kind of research because moving science forward is more important than the rights or well-being of animals. 
• Lastly, there are people whose opinions sit somewhere in the middle. They might argue that it’s ok to use animals for research, but only in some cases. For example, if the results of the research are very likely to help treat something that affects people, then it may be okay to use animals.

Along with this debate, there are many advantages and disadvantages of doing animal research . Scientists must weigh these options when performing their research.

Additional Images via Wikimedia Commons. White rat image by Alexandroff Pogrebnoj.

Read more about: Using Animals in Research

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• Article: Using Animals in Research
• Author(s): Patrick McGurrin and Christian Ross
• Publisher: Arizona State University School of Life Sciences Ask A Biologist
• Site name: ASU - Ask A Biologist
• Date published: December 4, 2016
• Date accessed: August 8, 2024
• Link: https://askabiologist.asu.edu/explore/Animal-use-in-Research

Patrick McGurrin and Christian Ross. (2016, December 04). Using Animals in Research. ASU - Ask A Biologist. Retrieved August 8, 2024 from https://askabiologist.asu.edu/explore/Animal-use-in-Research

Chicago Manual of Style

Patrick McGurrin and Christian Ross. "Using Animals in Research". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 04 December, 2016. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/explore/Animal-use-in-Research

MLA 2017 Style

Patrick McGurrin and Christian Ross. "Using Animals in Research". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 04 Dec 2016. ASU - Ask A Biologist, Web. 8 Aug 2024. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/explore/Animal-use-in-Research

Animals are an important part of research. But many argue about whether it's ethical to use animals to help advance scientific progress.

Using Animals in Research

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L Grayson. The British Library, 2000, £35, pp 300. ISBN 071230858X

The use of animals for the purpose of scientific research is an emotive subject. The moral arguments often exhibit polarised positions: the scientific demand for absolute freedom of research, and the abolitionist demand for a total ban on all animal experiments. At one extreme are those who argue that research on animals is essential in the battle against disease, and on the other extreme it is argued that the cost in terms of animal suffering is too high and that if experiments were prohibited medical researchers would find some other means of ensuring scientific progress. The rhetoric employed is also suggestive of a polarity: experimenters are accused of cruelty and indifference, whereas campaigners on behalf of animals are accused of irresponsibility and insensitivity towards the wellbeing of humans. Yet to ask …

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Animal research essay resources

Many students, from primary school to university, write assignments  that relate to the issue of animal research. This page aims to support  this by providing links to useful materials. It is especially useful to any students carrying out the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) alongside their A-levels or Extended Essay as part of their International Baccalaureate studies. Those students should read the  section below. Beneath each link is a  Harvard Reference  for the book, webpage or document in question which can be used in the footnotes or endnotes of your project paper. For online resources it is common practice to add the date you accessed the resource in square brackets at the end e.g. Cressey, D., 2011. Animal Research: Battle Scars. Nature. [online] 23 February. Available at: < http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110223/full/470452a.html > [Accessed: 6 February 2013]

Extended project qualification (EPQ)

Many students carry out their EPQ on the subject of animal research or animal testing. This page aims to help students find resources which are relevant to their project. It is important for students to discuss their project with their project supervisor as many of the marks are contingent on this process. This page is aimed at helping students with the AO1 (Manage) and AO2 (Use Resources) assessment objectives of their EPQ. AO1 requires students to identify their topic and the project’s aims and objectives. They must then produce a project plan and complete their work, applying organisational skills and strategies to meet stated objectives. This page aims to help students get a handle on the topic of animal research and provide some inspiration for possible areas of further study. AO2 requires students to obtain, and select from, a variety of resources, analyse and apply this data in a relevant manner and demonstrate an understanding of appropriate links. This page will provide links to large amounts of relevant information that students can use for their project, however it remains up to students to critically analyse and apply it to their specific project focus. Click on one of the links below for resources on the specific area of interest surrounding the issue of animal testing:

History of animal research

Ethics of animal experiments, costs and benefits of research, regulatory systems and the 3rs, animal rights activism and extremism, general websites, featured news.

New video from UAR: growing cancer in chicken eggs

The shameful case of Nellie Burnham

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Animal Essay

500 Words Essay on Animal

Animals carry a lot of importance in our lives. They offer humans with food and many other things. For instance, we consume meat, eggs, dairy products. Further, we use animals as a pet too. They are of great help to handicaps. Thus, through the animal essay, we will take a look at these creatures and their importance.

Types of Animals

First of all, all kinds of living organisms which are eukaryotes and compose of numerous cells and can sexually reproduce are known as animals. All animals have a unique role to play in maintaining the balance of nature.

A lot of animal species exist in both, land and water. As a result, each of them has a purpose for their existence. The animals divide into specific groups in biology. Amphibians are those which can live on both, land and water.

Reptiles are cold-blooded animals which have scales on their body. Further, mammals are ones which give birth to their offspring in the womb and have mammary glands. Birds are animals whose forelimbs evolve into wings and their body is covered with feather.

They lay eggs to give birth. Fishes have fins and not limbs. They breathe through gills in water. Further, insects are mostly six-legged or more. Thus, these are the kinds of animals present on earth.

Importance of Animals

Animals play an essential role in human life and planet earth. Ever since an early time, humans have been using animals for their benefit. Earlier, they came in use for transportation purposes.

Further, they also come in use for food, hunting and protection. Humans use oxen for farming. Animals also come in use as companions to humans. For instance, dogs come in use to guide the physically challenged people as well as old people.

In research laboratories, animals come in use for drug testing. Rats and rabbits are mostly tested upon. These researches are useful in predicting any future diseases outbreaks. Thus, we can protect us from possible harm.

Astronomers also use animals to do their research. They also come in use for other purposes. Animals have use in various sports like racing, polo and more. In addition, they also have use in other fields.

They also come in use in recreational activities. For instance, there are circuses and then people also come door to door to display the tricks by animals to entertain children. Further, they also come in use for police forces like detection dogs.

Similarly, we also ride on them for a joyride. Horses, elephants, camels and more come in use for this purpose. Thus, they have a lot of importance in our lives.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Conclusion of Animal Essay

Thus, animals play an important role on our planet earth and in human lives. Therefore, it is our duty as humans to protect animals for a better future. Otherwise, the human race will not be able to survive without the help of the other animals.

FAQ on Animal Essay

Question 1: Why are animals are important?

Answer 1: All animals play an important role in the ecosystem. Some of them help to bring out the nutrients from the cycle whereas the others help in decomposition, carbon, and nitrogen cycle. In other words, all kinds of animals, insects, and even microorganisms play a role in the ecosystem.

Question 2: How can we protect animals?

Answer 2: We can protect animals by adopting them. Further, one can also volunteer if one does not have the means to help. Moreover, donating to wildlife reserves can help. Most importantly, we must start buying responsibly to avoid companies which harm animals to make their products.

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National Research Council (US) and Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on the Use of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Use of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 1988.

Use of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research.

• Hardcopy Version at National Academies Press

Executive Summary

The use of animals in scientific research has been a controversial issue for well over a hundred years. The basic problem can be stated quite simply: Research with animals has saved human lives, lessened human suffering, and advanced scientific understanding, yet that same research can cause pain and distress for the animals involved and usually results in their death. It is hardly surprising that animal experimentation raises complex questions and generates strong emotions.

Animal experimentation is an essential component of biomedical and behavioral research, a critical part of efforts to prevent, cure, and treat a vast range of ailments. As in the past, investigators are using animals to learn about the most widespread diseases of the age, including heart disease and cancer, as well as to gain basic knowledge in genetics, physiology, and other life sciences. Animals are also needed to combat new diseases, of which acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is currently the most prominent example. At the same time, behavioral researchers are drawing on animal studies to learn more about such major causes of human suffering as mental illness, drug addiction, and senility.

The recognition that animals are essential in scientific research is critical in making decisions about their use, but these decisions are also made in the broad context of social and ethical values. In this report, the committee addresses these issues and examines how and why animals are used in research and how society oversees that research.

• Patterns of Animal Use

Data about the numbers and species of animals used for scientific experimentation in the United States come primarily from two sources: the National Research Council's Institute for Laboratory Animal Resources (ILAR) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Though the information from both of these sources is incomplete, it provides a picture of the magnitude of animal experimentation in the United States. In 1983, an estimated 17 to 22 million animals were used for research, testing, and education in the United States. In this case, ''animal'' includes all vertebrates—namely, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. The majority of animals used—between 12 million and 15 million—were rats and mice. These quantities are a small fraction of the total of over 5 billion animals used annually for food, clothing, and other purposes in the United States.

A significant portion of the laboratory animals used each year are involved not in research but in testing. Research and testing are not always separable, but testing generally entails the use of animals, primarily rats and mice, to assess the safety or effectiveness of consumer products such as drugs, chemicals, and cosmetics.

The data concerning the numbers of animals used in testing are not complete. Various sources estimate that anywhere from several million to more than half of the approximately 20 million animals used for research and testing in the United States are used for testing. In contrast, the use of animals in education is relatively small (i.e., only an estimated 53,000 animals are used per year in teaching in medical and veterinary schools) and has been declining in recent years.

In general, the data concerning animal use in the United States must be viewed as uncertain. The Office of Technology Assessment has concluded that it is not even possible to tell from the existing data whether the total number of animals used each year is increasing or decreasing. A survey now being planned by ILAR, the fourth in a series of ILAR surveys conducted since 1962, will provide some of this information.

Animal research encompasses a wide range of biomedical and behavioral experiments. One field of behavioral research entails observing animals in colonies that simulate their natural environments. Other animals undergo medical procedures such as surgery to gauge the effectiveness of new techniques. Some are exposed to toxic substances until death or disability results. Others are killed immediately to obtain an essential organ or tissue for further studies. Although long-term survival is sometimes the goal of animal experimentation, most research animals are humanely killed at some point during the course of the research.

• Benefits Derived from the Use of Animals

The use of animals in biomedical and behavioral research has greatly increased scientific knowledge and has had enormous benefits for human health. For example, in the United States, animal experimentation has contributed to an increase in average life expectancy of about 25 years since 1900. A few examples give an indication of the breadth and variety of these contributions.

• Animals have been used to study cardiovascular function and disease since the early 1600s. Heart-lung machines, which have made open-heart surgery possible, were developed with animals before being used with humans. More than 80 percent of all congenital heart diseases that were formerly fatal can now be cured by surgical treatment based on animal experiments. Similarly, a wide variety of surgical techniques and drug treatments, which have extended life for millions of Americans, were first perfected in animals.
• Studies of the biology of transplantation in animals have made it possible to transfer organs between people. Some 30,000 Americans now alive have transplanted kidneys, which free them from the laborious and uncomfortable dialysis treatments once needed to keep them alive. Other Americans are now alive because of transplanted hearts or livers, or have had their lives immeasurably improved because of skin or cornea transplants. Basic research on transplantation has also contributed greatly to the understanding of immunology, with wide ramifications for the treatment of many diseases.
• Animal research shed light on the nature of polio and has helped to nearly eliminate the disease from the United States. In the early 1900s, researchers succeeded in transmitting the polio virus to monkeys for the first time. In following years, investigators tested various altered or inactivated forms of the virus in monkeys until strains were found that could immunize the monkeys without giving them the disease. This work led to human vaccines that have reduced the number of cases of paralytic polio in the United States from 58,000 in 1952, at the height of one epidemic, to 4 in 1984.
• Many clinically useful methodologies were first tested on animals before being used with humans. Examples include computed axial tomographic (CAT) scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
• Animal studies have been essential in probing the functions of the brain in health and disease. Investigators have used animals to understand movement (and the movement dysfunctions caused by such diseases as epilepsy and multiple sclerosis), vision, memory (including the severe memory loss that occurs in 5 percent of persons over the age of 65), drug addiction, nerve cell regeneration, learning, and pain.

The use of animals is important if biomedical research is to continue to lead to the understanding and amelioration of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and uncontrolled infectious diseases. It will also be essential in efforts to understand and control newly emergent human diseases. For example, researchers have identified viruses in monkeys and other animals that cause diseases in those species similar to AIDS. These animals can therefore act as model systems for the human disease, allowing investigation of possible treatments and vaccines.

Animal research does not only benefit humans. Much animal research also benefits animals, either directly because animal health is the subject of research or indirectly because the same procedures and treatments used in humans can be used in animals. Most of the animals that benefit from this research are domesticated and therefore assist humans in some way—as sources of food and fiber, for instance, or as pets and companions. Vaccines, antibiotics, anesthetics, and other products have improved the lives of countless animals.

• Alternative Methods in Biomedical and Behavioral Research

Scientists have been and are searching for alternative methods to the use of animals in biomedical and behavioral research for a variety of reasons, including an interest in the welfare of animals, a concern for the increasing costs of purchasing and caring for animals, and because in some areas alternative methods may be more efficient and effective research tools. In current usage, the term "alternative methods" includes replacements for mammals, reductions in the use of animals, and refinements in experimental protocols that lessen the pain of the animals involved.

One way to reduce the use of mammals is to modify experimental protocols so that fewer of them are needed. In the field of testing, for instance, methods have been found to assess toxicity using fewer mammals than were once thought necessary. In addition, in some experimental situations, features of mammals can be modeled by nonmammalian vertebrates (birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish), invertebrates, plants, organs, tissues, cells, microorganisms, and nonbiological systems. For example, research conducted on the fruit fly Drosophila has led to understandings in genetics that apply to all living things, and mathematical models can increase the effectiveness of experiments by defining variables and checking theories, thus making experiments on biological systems more effective and economical. Finally, experimental protocols can be refined to reduce the pain and suffering experienced by laboratory animals. These approaches are all referred to as alternatives.

The search for alternatives to the use of animals in research and testing remains a valid goal of researchers, but the chance that alternatives will completely replace animals in the foreseeable future is nil. Nevertheless, successes have occurred in reducing the numbers of animals used, in developing nonmammalian models, and in refining experimental protocols to reduce the pain experienced by animals, and work continues in this area.

Recognizing the above, the committee recommends that:

• Research investigators should consider possible alternative methods before using animals in experimental procedures.

To enable researchers better to consider alternatives, it is important that they have access to relevant information. The committee therefore recommends that:

• Databases and knowledge bases should be further developed and made available for those seeking appropriate experimental models for use in the design of research protocols.

Furthermore, although the committee's work has focused mainly on research, it recommends that:

• Federal regulatory agencies should move rapidly to accept tests—as such tests become validated—that reduce the number of vertebrates used, insofar as this does not compromise the regulatory mission of an agency and protection of the public.
• Regulatory Issues

The laws and regulations governing animal research reflect the broad ethical considerations surrounding the use of animals by humans. The most important federal law affecting animal research in the United States is the Animal Welfare Act. Passed in 1966 and amended in 1970, 1976, and 1985, the act sets minimum standards for handling, housing, feeding, and watering laboratory animals and establishes basic levels of sanitation, ventilation, and shelter from temperature and weather extremes. The law covers those warm-blooded animals designated by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the overseer of the Animal Welfare Act. At present, this includes dogs, cats, nonhuman primates, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, and marine mammals, but not rats, mice, birds, and farm animals used in biomedical research—although rats and mice account for about 85 percent of the animals used in research, education, and testing.

The most recent amendments to the Animal Welfare Act, which took the form of the Improved Standards for Laboratory Animals Act of 1985, added several important provisions to the law. The law requires investigators to consider alternative methods that do not involve animals and to consult with a veterinarian before beginning any experiment that could cause pain. It also requires that dogs receive proper exercise, that primates be provided with environments that promote their psychological well-being, and that all animals used receive adequate presurgical and postsurgical care and pain-relieving drugs. These amendments also require that each registered research facility appoint a committee to monitor animal research in that institution. These committees must include a veterinarian and a person unaffiliated with the research facility to represent the community's interests in animal welfare. Committee members must inspect the facility's animal laboratories twice a year and report deficiencies to the institution for correction. If the deficiencies are not corrected promptly, the U.S. Department of Agriculture must be notified for enforcement, and any funding agency must be informed so that it can decide whether to suspend or revoke grants or contracts to the violator.

A second long-standing, important document affecting animal research in the United States is a product not of the federal government but of the scientific community. In 1963, the Animal Care Panel released the Guide for Laboratory Animal Facilities and Care . The Guide has been revised five times since then by ILAR, most recently in 1985, and has been renamed the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals to reflect its broadened scope. Its purpose is to assist investigators and institutions in caring for and using laboratory animals professionally and humanely. It is written in general terms so that it can be used by the wide variety of institutions that conduct experiments using animals.

A number of other government agencies and private organizations have drawn on the Guide in establishing standards for animal research. The 1985 Health Research Extension Act, which reauthorized funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), requires that researchers receiving funding from NIH adhere to the standards of the Guide . In 1986, the Public Health Service (PHS)—which includes NIH, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration—released the most recent revision of its policy statement on the humane care and use of laboratory animals. This, too, requires compliance with the Guide . An Interagency Research Animal Committee incorporated the Guide by reference in its 1985 "U.S. Government Principles for the Utilization and Care of Vertebrate Animals Used in Testing, Research, and Training." On the nongovernmental side, the American Association for Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care uses the Guide in evaluating the animal facilities of institutions seeking accreditation.

In addition to requiring compliance with the Guide , the PHS policy statement and 1985 Health Research Extension Act include several other important statutory and regulatory changes. They require that each institution receiving funds from PHS maintain an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) to monitor animal research. As with the committees required by the Animal Welfare Act, each IACUC must include one veterinarian and one individual not affiliated with the institution. Investigators who plan to use animals must submit their research protocols to these committees, including a justification for the use of a particular kind of animal and a demonstration that they have considered methods that do not use animals.

The use of animals for research, testing, and education is also regulated in other ways in the United States. For example, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency have established Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) regulations that affect the use and care of animals.

Even with this abundance of regulatory activity, self-regulation is the most important determinant of humane treatment of animals. Professional societies have set up guidelines to be followed by their members. In addition, many individual institutions—governmental, academic, and private—have established policies governing animal experimentation and testing. Many institutions now provide information and instruction to animal users on the proper care and handling of research animals. Most important are individual investigators; under the review of their institutional animal committees, they ultimately have the greatest control over and responsibility for how an animal will be cared for and used. At the same time, most scientists acknowledge the need for regulations to set minimum standards and provide for public accountability.

Although humane care and use of laboratory animals characterize the scientific community, there have been from time to time some members of this community who have been found to care inadequately for their animals. The committee believes that the mistreatment or mishandling of animals is not acceptable. Maltreatment and improper care of animals used in research cannot be tolerated, and individuals responsible for such behavior must be subject to censure. Without such punishment, the continued use of animals by all scientists is threatened, as more regulations and restrictions are imposed by legislative and regulatory authorities in response to their perception that scientists who commit abuses are not punished.

Many scientists believe, however, that present regulatory procedures can in some instances be disruptive, in that they may decrease efficiency, increase costs, and slow progress. For instance, obtaining preliminary approval of all research protocols does delay some experiments. On the other hand, protocol review can help the researcher when it provides an opportunity for the scientist's peers to offer advice and assistance. This advice may result in a better-planned experiment that not only improves animal care and minimizes animal pain but also leads to more instructive results. In any case, more extensive regulations may have contributed to the increased expense of animal research, which constrains the research that can be done.

The requirement that investigators strictly comply with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals has also raised difficulties. The 1985 Health Research Extension Act essentially imparts the force of law to the Guide , but the Guide was not written to be a legal document. It was designed to provide for flexibility in interpretation, guided by professional judgment. As such, it has served the community of individuals using laboratory animals well in the more than 20 years since it was first published. Because it is now being used to set minimum standards for inspection, it may in some respects be too rigidly interpreted, as in the requirement for multiple separate areas and rooms for performing aseptic surgery. If the Guide is to act as law, it should be carefully examined and redrafted as needed to ensure that its language satisfies the intent, as distinct from the letter, of the law.

In the general area of regulation, the committee recommends the following:

• No additional laws or regulatory measures (except the regulations required by the Improved Standards for Laboratory Animals Act of 1985) affecting the use of animals in research should be promulgated until, based on experience, a careful accounting of the effects of the application of the present body of laws, regulations, and guidelines has been made and evidence of the need for more regulation is available.
• A mechanism should be established for ongoing review of the regulatory framework of federal agencies for animal experimentation. It is essential that research scientists who must abide by this regulatory framework be prominently involved in its assessment. Specifically, the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals should be reviewed as soon as possible to determine whether revisions are necessary due to new information.
• Federal standards developed by different agencies for the care and use of laboratory animals should be congruent with each other.
• Sufficient federal funds should be appropriated for the inspections required for the enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act.
• Sufficient federal funds should be appropriated for maintenance and improvement of animal facilities to allow individuals and institutions to conduct animal research in compliance with government policies, regulations, and laws. It is important that such funds should be added to ongoing research support.
• Use of Pound Animals

One of the most controversial areas in the current debate involves the use of impounded dogs and cats. The emotions engendered have resulted in the passage of laws by a number of political jurisdictions that prohibit or restrict the release of impounded animals for use in research. These laws create a dilemma: the impounded animals are not released for use in research but are killed by the pound or shelter if not claimed. Each year more than 10 million such animals are destroyed at pounds or shelters, whereas fewer than 200,000 dogs and cats are released from pounds and shelters to scientific establishments for use in research—less than 2 percent of the number that are destroyed.

A prohibition against the use of pound animals also means that more animals are used each year. Instead of using one of the 10 million pound animals that will be destroyed, different animals are bred for use in research.

Whether a pound animal or a "purpose-bred" animal is the appropriate research model depends on the needs of the experiment. Pound animals are seen as having varied genetic backgrounds. In some experiments the genetic variability, because it is much like that found naturally in humans, is an advantage; in other cases it is necessary to know the genetic background of the animal, requiring an animal bred for research. For other experiments it may be necessary to use purpose-bred animals because the health history, physiological status, and age of pound animals are not well enough known to ensure that conditions present in the animals will not interfere with conduct of the experiment.

Twelve states have passed laws that prohibit the release of impounded animals for use in research. In 11 of these states, researchers can use animals impounded in other states, which are legally transported across state lines by dealers. In Massachusetts, a new law that went into effect in 1986 prohibits researchers from using any animals from pounds, no matter where those animals were impounded.

A prohibition against the use of pound animals inevitably increases the costs of animal research because the cost of an animal from a dealer is greater than the cost of a pound animal. If the impounded dogs used each year in research were not available, a substantial additional cost would be incurred from buying replacement dogs from dealers.

In addressing the use of pound animals:

• The committee unanimously recommends that pound animals be made available for research in which the experimental animals are used in acute experiments (i.e., in which the animals remain anesthetized until they are killed). While a majority of the committee supports the appropriate use of pound animals in all experiments, a minority opposes the use of pound animals for chronic, survival experiments.

American society is a pluralistic society in which public policy takes into account many different perspectives. No single ideology or theology governs people's ways of thinking. Similarly, decisions in the United States do not arise unilaterally from authorities. They reflect a consensus within society, as expressed through people's elected representatives.

Some people will continue to contend that animal research should be eliminated. The committee rejects such a view. Indeed, the committee concludes that:

• Humans are morally obliged to each other to improve the human condition. In cases in which research with animals is the best available method to reach that goal, animals should be used.

The committee also recognizes that:

• Scientists are ethically obliged to ensure the well-being of animals used in research and to minimize their pain and suffering.

The committee affirms the principle of humane care of all animals used in research and recommends that:

• All those responsible for the care and use of animals in research should adhere to the principle that these animals be treated humanely.
• Cite this Page National Research Council (US) and Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on the Use of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Use of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 1988. Executive Summary.
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