(1.3) The Use of Animals in Research Module 1.3.pdf

Donna Lea P. Buendia  The underlying mechanisms of behavior are similar across species and sometimes easier to study in a nonhuman species.  Humans are naturally curious.  What we learn about animals sheds light on human evolution.  Certain experiments cannot use humans because of lega...

Donna Lea P. Buendia  The underlying mechanisms of behavior are similar across species and sometimes easier to study in a nonhuman species.  Humans are naturally curious.  What we learn about animals sheds light on human evolution.  Certain experiments cannot use humans because of legal or ethical restrictions.  In other experiments, animals have been subjected to brain damage, electrode implantation, injections of drugs and hormones and so forth.  “I don’t think you’d have to kill – assassinate – too many [doctors involved with animal testing]... I think for 5 lives, 10 lives, 15 human lives, we could save a million, 2 million. 10 million non human lives.” –Animal Defense League  Minimalist – tolerate animal research under certain conditions.  They accept some kinds of research but wish to prohibit others depending on the probable value of the research, the amount of distress to the animal, and the type of animal.  Abolitionist – take a more extreme position and see no room for compromise.  They maintain that all animals have the same rights a humans.  They regard killing an animal as murder, whether the intention is to eat it, use its fur, or gain scientific knowledge.  Keeping an animal in a cage is slavery. “Never knowingly harm An innocent.” “Sometimes a little harm Leads to a greater good.”  The legal standards emphasizes the 3 R’s: 1. Reduction – using fewer animals 2. Replacement - using computer models or other substitutes for animals, when possible 3. Refinement – modifying the procedures to reduce pain and discomfort * Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee – composed of veterinarians, community representatives and scientists that evaluate proposed experiments involving animals.