Ethics of Research involving animals
Issues raised by specific types of animal research
1.8 Two questions are fundamental to the debate about research involving animals. First, does the scientific use of animals lead to valid, useful and relevant results in specific areas? Secondly, is it permissible for one species to cause pain, suffering and death to another to achieve aims that primarily benefit the former species? In order to consider these questions, we must explore a number of complex issues. These include a discussion of the arguments about the moral status of humans and animals, and ways of morally justifying specific kinds of treatment. The usefulness and relevance of the different kinds of research in which animals are involved need to be examined, as well as the degree of pain and suffering which they may experience in research.
1.9 It is unhelpful to consider these issues merely in the abstract. Rather, it is necessary to examine the types of research that give rise to particular concerns and we briefly consider four examples. First, knowledge about the genetics of animal traits enables researchers to ‘design’ animals with specific features, using different methods of genetic modification (GM). Some people perceive such activities as an instance of increasing commodification of animals. Critics of the GM approach are also concerned about the large numbers of animals (mostly rodents) required to produce GM strains and the fact that the welfare implications of genetic modification are often unforeseeable (see Chapters 4, 5 and 7).
1.10 The second example concerns the use of animals as models for human disease. In the case of hepatitis C, in the 1980s researchers infected chimpanzees in order to understand the pathology of the disease and to develop a vaccine (see Chapter 6). Researchers have also bred or created by other means animals that are affected by particular diseases so that they can study the processes involved, and develop possible interventions. These models include mice with diseases such as cystic fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) such as BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, see Chapters 6 and 7). Many people object to the idea of producing animals that will exhibit the symptoms of a serious disease, whether by selective breeding, genetic modification or other means.
1.11 Thirdly, experiments on animals that, in evolutionary terms, are most closely related to humans, such as primates, have been particularly controversial. They are used in many areas of neurobiology because their brains share a great number of structural and functional features with human brains (see Chapter 5 and 6). While this similarity has scientific advantages, it poses some difficult ethical problems, because of an increased likelihood that primates experience pain and suffering in ways that are similar to humans.
1.12 Fourthly, the use of animals for toxicity testing in the development of pharmaceuticals and non-medical products such as agricultural and household chemicals has attracted criticism with regard to the degree of pain and suffering that is involved, and the numbers of animals killed. Some opponents of this type of animal use also consider that the scientific validity of such tests is doubtful (see Chapters 8–10).