Phil 7570, Fall 2007

Bryan Benham

The Ethical Challenge of Animal Experimentation

1

Outline

• The Ethical Challenge

• Moral Status of Animals

• Advocacy

• Changing the Debate

The Ethical Challenge

Complete abolition

Anything goes

Benefits of Animal Exp.

We [medical researchers] have a duty to find treatments for human disease and suffering,… unfortunately that requires animal experimentation…

Sometimes there is no other way to discover the answer to a research question than to test it on an animal model. We can’t do these types of experiments on humans.

The Moral Challenge

Complete abolition

Anything goes

Not practical, nor possible in foreseeable

future

Regulatory Landscape

• Animal Welfare Act (7 USC, 2131-2156)– Insure humane care and treatment, transportation, and sale– Protected species: birds, rats of the genus Rattus and mice of the genus Mus bred for use in research, and horses not used for research purposes and other farm animals..

• PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (August 2002)

– Animal = any live, vertebrate animals used or intended for use in research, training, testing or related purposes.

• IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee)– Review and approve all animal use research proposals and manage animal

care program at institution.– Accredited by Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory

Animal Care (AAALAC)

Guiding Principles: 3R

• Replacement:– using non-animal models or “lower” animals.

• Reduction:– use methods aimed at reducing the numbers of animals

needed.

• Refinement: – eliminate or reduce unnecessary pain and distress.

One needs to identify the benefits, then ensure that one is using only those animals you to use; that the numbers for each experiment are the minimum and that they are treated with care.

John Martin from the Animal Ethics Advisory Committee (New Zealand) quoted in “Rise in animal testing in New Zealand,” tvnz.co.nz,

September 11, 2007

The Moral Challenge

Complete abolition

Anything goes

Not practical, nor possible in foreseeable

future

Not humane, ignores obvious pain/suffering of

animals

The Moral Challenge

Complete abolition

Anything goes

Not practical, nor possible in foreseeable

future

Not humane, ignores obvious characters of

animalsNeither of the extremes are ethical,

nor reasonable, so….

The Moral Challenge

Complete abolition

Anything goes

Where is the middle ground?

Not practical, nor possible in foreseeable

future

Not humane, ignores obvious characters of

animals

?

Three Areas of Concern

• Moral status and welfare of animals in experimentation– Pain and suffering– Comparable benefits and suffering

• Advocacy for animals– Oversight and attitudes– ‘outside’ groups

• Changing the debate– Animal psychology/behavior– Animal models and transgenics

Moral Status of Animals

• Sentience vs. Sapience– Pain/suffering (sentience) is only principled way to

distinguish those entities with/without moral status.– Animals feel pain/suffer, thus have interests, thus

require equal consideration (not necessarily equal treatment). (Peter Singer)

• Human suffering vs. Animal suffering– What is the proper balance between animal

pain/suffering and human benefit?

Animal Advocacy

• Compliance and Oversight– In addition, proper care and treatment…– Those who oversee also those interested

in the research…

• ‘Outside’ Groups– Spies from PETA– Pressure from ALF

Changing the Debate

• Animal Psychology/Behavior– Research on animal psychology/behavior shows that animal

cognition/behavior is more similar to human cognition/behavior than previously thought

– What are the moral consequences of this changing view?

• Animal Models and Transgenics– The more humanized the animal is the better model it makes. But, if

animals are more like humans, shouldn’t this give us pause regarding the moral status of research animals?

– Enhanced memory, cognition, aggression, nurturance, etc…. Transgenics for xenotransplantation…Chimeras: the “Human neuron mouse”

– What is the significant modification that would prohibit or modify research on that animal model?

Summary

• The Ethical Challenge: – Finding a reasonable middle ground

• Moral Status of Animals– Sentience vs. sapience

• Advocacy – What role should ‘outside’ groups play?– How should research community respond?

• Modifying animals– How do modifications to animals change the debate?