Of course, suffering is not limited to pain and stress; an animal can suffer when its biological or social needs are not met. Besides providing the animals with food, water and a clean, comfortable living environment; care is taken to enrich the lives of animals through species-appropriate enrichment — this could be thicker bedding for nesting species or objects to climb to certain animals etc.
In summary, researchers do everything possible to minimise any suffering on the part of the animals they use in research, and where suffering is unavoidable they take every possible measure to reduce that suffering to an absolute minimum. Everyone involved with animals in labs has a responsibility to care about their welfare. There are numerous professional groups that are actively involved in the welfare of laboratory animals. There are also scientists and specialty fields of research that conduct studies to identify the best practices to house and care for animals.
Animal care technicians , specialized veterinarians and scientists are all dedicated to the welfare of the animals in their care. These animals are treated with compassion and respect by the professionals that care for their daily physical and psychological needs. The use of animals is highly regulated with numerous national, regional and local laws, regulations, policies and guidelines set in place to ensure the oversight of studies.
Replacement, reduction and refinement guide the ethical use of animals in science. Scientific objectives must be balanced with consideration of animal welfare.
While some animals may be used again, or sometimes even adopted out, most animals are humanely euthanized. This is usually because certain information, such as organ samples, can only be taken after the animal is euthanized and the body subjected to further analysis.
This information is just as important as measurements taken during the life of the animal. While there are many efforts to allow suitable animals dogs, cats etc to be adopted where possible where a post-mortem examination is not needed , many species are not appropriate to keep as pets.
Even traditional pet animals, such as dogs and cats, can have different needs as a result of living in a laboratory. These animals are used to being surrounded by fellow animals, as well as receiving attention from people throughout the day. As a result, they may not be suited to life as a house pet particularly if an only pet, or where it will be left alone in daytime.
Further to this, there are around 1. The belief as to whether animal research is ethical is individual to each person. At the heart of it we are making a judgement as to whether humans are more important than animals — do we have a right to kill an animal to save a human, or indeed do we have a duty to do so?
Furthermore, since much biomedical research directly, or indirectly, contributes to improving animal health e. The regulatory framework in most countries demands that animal research may only take place where the benefits of scientific research outweigh the harms to animals, and where there are no viable alternatives to the use of animals. Another alternative to this test is a product called Eyetex. This synthetic material turns opaque when a product damages it, closely resembling the way that a real eye reacts to harmful substances.
Computers have also been used to simulate and estimate the potential damage that a product or chemical can cause, and human tissues and cells have been used to examine the effects of harmful substances. In another method, in vitro testing, cellular tests are done inside a test tube. All of these tests have been proven to be useful and reliable alternatives to testing products on live animals. Therefore, because effective means of product toxicity testing are available without the use of live animal specimens, testing potentially deadly substances on animals is unnecessary.
However, many people believe that animal testing is justified because the animals are sacrificed to make products safer for human use and consumption. The problem with this reasoning is that the animals' safety, well-being, and quality of life is generally not a consideration. Experimental animals are virtually tortured to death, and all of these tests are done in the interest of human welfare, without any thought to how the animals are treated.
Others respond that animals themselves benefit from animal research. But the value we place on the quality of their lives is determined by their perceived value to humans" Making human's lives better should not be justification for torturing and exploiting animals.
The value that humans place on their own lives should be extended to the lives of animals as well. Still other people think that animal testing is acceptable because animals are lower species than humans and therefore have no rights. These individuals feel that animals have no rights because they lack the capacity to understand or to knowingly exercise these rights.
However, animal experimentation in medical research and cosmetics testing cannot be justified on the basis that animals are lower on the evolutionary chart than humans since animals resemble humans in so many ways.
Many animals, especially the higher mammalian species, possess internal systems and organs that are identical to the structures and functions of human internal organs. Also, animals have feelings, thoughts, goals, needs, and desires that are similar to human functions and capacities, and these similarities should be respected, not exploited, because of the selfishness of humans. Tom Regan asserts that "animals are subjects of a life just as human beings are, and a subject of a life has inherent value.
View the List. Animals used in experiments include baboons, cats , cows , dogs , ferrets, fish , frogs, guinea pigs , hamsters , horses , llamas, mice , monkeys such as marmosets and macaques , owls, pigs , quail, rabbits , rats and sheep.
Chimpanzees have thankfully not been subjected to invasive experiments in the U. Despite this, hundreds of chimpanzees are still languishing in laboratories while they wait to be moved into sanctuaries. Experiments are often excruciatingly painful for the animals used and can vary in duration from days to months to years. During this time, the experiment can cause vomiting, diarrhea, irritation, rashes, bleeding, loss of appetite, weight loss, convulsions, respiratory distress, salivation, paralysis, lethargy, bleeding, organ abnormalities, tumors, heart failure, liver disease, cancer and even death.
There is no limit to the extent of pain and suffering that can be inflicted on animals during experiments. In some instances, animals are not given anything to relieve their pain or distress during or after the experiment on the basis that it could affect the experiment. Animals are typically killed once an experiment is over so that their tissues and organs can be examined, although it is not unusual for animals to be used in multiple experiments over many years.
There are no accurate statistics available on how many animals are killed in laboratories every year. Chemical, pesticide and drug companies as well as contract laboratories that carry out tests for these companies , public and private universities, community and technical schools, government facilities, Veterans Affairs VA facilities and hospitals all use animals in experiments.
The majority of animals in laboratories are purpose-bred, meaning that they are bred specifically to be used in experiments.
People who breed and sell purpose-bred animals are called Class A dealers and are licensed and inspected by the U. Some animals used in experiments are taken from the wild—including birds and monkeys.
Historically, some cats and dogs were sold to laboratories by brokers known as random source Class B dealers, who acquired animals at auctions, from newspaper ads and various other sources, including animal shelters. Random source Class B dealers have not been allowed to operate since when Congress first passed legislation to prevent them from being licensed. Some states have no laws at all, leaving it up to the individual shelter or locality.
Animals in laboratories suffer immensely. In addition to the painful experiments that the vast majority of animals in laboratories experience over days, months, years or even decades, life in a laboratory is typically a miserable and terrifying experience.
Typically kept alone in barren steel cages with little room to move around and few if any comforts, such as a toys or soft bedding, animals often become excruciatingly lonely and anxious. Animals in laboratories can associate humans with painful situations and, with no way to hide or get away, they panic whenever a person approaches their cage.
Dogs, however, will often still seek human attention. They typically also watch or hear other animals suffering, including their own parents, siblings or babies. High levels of constant stress can cause them to mutilate themselves. This is especially true of primates. It is also not uncommon for animals to exhibit repetitive behaviors, such as constant pacing, rocking or vocalizing as a way to help relieve their anxiety.
Animals in laboratories are also subject to mistreatment by inexperienced or careless staff. Although there are penalties for laboratories when animals are injured or killed due to negligence, in reality the fines are typically either very small or waived entirely.
In some cases, animals die as a direct result of the experiment. It is extremely rare that animals are either adopted out or placed into a sanctuary after research is conducted on them. However, more and more states are passing laws that require laboratories, when possible, to offer dogs and cats to shelters and other rescue organizations so they can be adopted.
The Animal Welfare Act was designed to protect certain animals, like dogs and monkeys, used in experiments, but the law only offers minimal standards for housing, food and exercise. Basic biological research constitutes the most common use of animals in experiments around the world. It does not involve the testing of new medicines for humans or other animals and is conducted entirely on a voluntary basis.
The likelihood of such speculative research actually leading to advances in human medicine is very slim. The use of genetically modified animals GM has been an increasing trend for the last 30 years and while the sheer scale of GM animal use is difficult to determine, it is clearly responsible for year on year increases in animal numbers worldwide.
Researchers focus on genes that may be relevant in human medical conditions. Far from being harmless tests, suffering has been acknowledged at every step of the GM process.
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