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The Ethics of Research involving Animals

Workshop: Ethics and research involving animals (2)

Ethical issues

While there may be no such thing as a ‘new’ ethical issue, it was felt that there are certainly issues in relation to research involving animals that would benefit from a clear analysis. One example is whether or not there are morally relevant distinctions to be made between different species. Currently, there seem to be differences both in our intuitions about the moral status of different types of animal, and in the protection afforded to them. These intuitions are related both to historical and social attitudes towards different animals and their roles in our lives and to the perceived differences in their capacity for self-awareness and hence for suffering, both physically and psychologically. For example, there is more concern about mice than fruit flies. Equally, there is much more concern about dogs than about non-domesticated animals, even though they may have a similar capacity for suffering. There are also differences between countries; for example the UK does not include fruit flies in its regulation of research involving animals, while the US does not include rodents whereas the UK does. It was agreed that it would be beneficial to examine the grounds for these distinctions more closely.

The new possibilities raised by genetic modification also raise ethical questions that could merit examination. Potential advances include ‘humanising’ mice – stem cell research could lead to the development of mice with human brain cells – and hypothetical possibilities, such as attempts to create primates with the capacity for speech. There are currently some limits on the kinds of modification that are permitted, for example there are bans on animal-human hybridisation, the creation of animals that would be permanently insentient , and “bizarre” pets. These have all been identified as goals of research that it would be wrong in itself to pursue. It was noted that, despite the rate of progress in research, ethical analysis and evaluation of new directions in research could still be carried out in sufficient time to have an impact.