Ethics of Research involving animals
The context of animal research: past and present
Introduction
2.1 This chapter concerns scientific, ethical and legal developments from a historical and contemporary perspective. We describe changes in public policy and public opinion and different forms of protests against animal research. We also consider the emergence of the concept of the Three Rs (Refinement, Reduction and Replacement; see Chapters 11 and 12), stakeholder and campaigning organisations, and animal-rights philosophy. We then briefly review the historical development and current provisions of the regulatory framework in the UK (see Chapter 13).
Footnotes1 Rupke NA, Editor (1987) Vivisection in Historical Perspective (London and New York: Croon-Helm).
2 The notable physician Galen of the 2nd century AD, for example, argued that vivisection was the only way to reveal the
function of biological structures. See Guerrini A (2004) Experimenting with Humans and Animals: From Galen to animal rights
JAMA 291: 2133–4; Orlans FB (1998) History and ethical regulation of animal experimentation: an international perspective,
in A Companion to Bioethics, Kuhse H and Singer P (Editors) (Oxford: Blackwell).
3 For example, it is thought that the doctor and philosopher Al-Razi (or Rhazes) (864–930 AD) tested treatments on animals to
evaluate their efficacy and side effects. See Bunch B and Hellemans A (Editors) (2004) The History of Science and Technology
(Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company).
4 Hill RB and Anderson RE (1988) The Autopsy – Medical Practice and Public Policy (London: Butterworth).
5 Rhodes P (1985) An Outline of the History of Medicine (London: Butterworth).