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Animal testing or animal research refers to the use of non-human animals in experiments. It is estimated that 50 to 100 million vertebrate animals worldwide — from zebrafish to non-human primates — are used annually and killed during or after the experiments."Vivisection FAQ, British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection; "The Ethics of research involving animals", Nuffield Council on Bioethics, section 1.6. Although much larger numbers of invertebrates are used and the use of flies and worms as model organisms is very important, experiments on invertebrates are largely unregulated and not included in statistics. Sources of laboratory animals vary between countries and species; while most animals are purpose-bred, others may be caught in the wild or supplied by dealers who obtain them from auctions and pounds."Use of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research", Institute for Laboratory Animal Research, The National Academies Press, 1988. Also see Cooper, Sylvia. "Pets crowd animal shelter", The Augusta Chronicle, August 1, 1999; and Gillham, Christina. "Bought to be sold", Newsweek, February 17, 2006.
The research is conducted inside universities, medical schools, pharmaceutical companies, farms, defense establishments, and commercial facilities that provide animal-testing services to industry."Introduction", Select Committee on Animals In Scientific Procedures Report, United Kingdom Parliament. It includes pure research such as genetics, developmental biology, behavioural studies, as well as applied research such as biomedical research, xenotransplantation, drug testing and toxicology tests, including cosmetics testing. Animals are also used for education, breeding, and defense research.
The topic is highly controversial. Supporters of the practice, such as the British Royal Society, argue that virtually every medical achievement in the 20th century relied on the use of animals in some way,The use of non-human animals in research: a guide for scientists The Royal Society, 2004, page 1 with the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences arguing that even sophisticated computers are unable to model interactions between molecules, cells, tissues, organs, organisms, and the environment, making animal research necessary in some areas."Science, Medicine, and Animals", Institute for Laboratory Animal Research, Published by the National Research Council of the National Academies 2004; page 2 The U.S. and British governments both support the advancement of medical and scientific goals using animal testing, provided that the testing minimizes animal use and suffering.1985 Amendment to Animal Welfare Act Accessed 27 February 2008Summary of House of Lords Select Committee on Animals In Scientific Procedures Accessed 27 February 2008 Opponents, such as the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, question the necessity of it, arguing further that it is cruel, poor scientific practice, never reliably predictive of human metabolic and physiological specificities, poorly regulated, that the costs outweigh the alleged benefits, or that animals have an intrinsic right not to be used for experimentation.
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The terms animal testing, animal experimentation, animal research, in vivo testing, and vivisection have similar denotations but different connotations. Literally, "vivisection" means the "cutting up" of a living animal, and historically referred only to experiments that involved the dissection of live animals. The term is now used to refer to any experiment using living animals; for example, the Encyclopaedia Britannica defines "vivisection" as: "Operation on a living animal for experimental rather than healing purposes; more broadly, all experimentation on live animals.""Vivisection", Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2007. Also see Croce, Pietro. Vivisection or Science? An Investigation into Testing Drugs and Safeguarding Health. Zed Books, 1999, and "FAQs: Vivisection", British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection. For others, the word has a pejorative connotation, implying torture and suffering.Carbone, Larry. What Animals Want: Expertise and Advocacy in Laboratory Animal Welfare. Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 22. The word "vivisection" is preferred by those opposed to this research, whereas scientists typically use the term "animal experimentation."Paixao, RL; Schramm, FR. Ethics and animal experimentation: what is debated? Cad. Saúde Pública, Rio de Janeiro, 2007Yarri, Donna. The Ethics of Animal Experimentation, Oxford University Press U.S., 2005
One of Pavlov’s dogs with a saliva-catch container and tube surgically implanted in his muzzle. Pavlov Museum, 2005
Claude Bernard, regarded as the "prince of vivisectors" and one of the greatest men of science, argued that experiments on animals are "entirely conclusive for the toxicology and hygiene of man," thereby establishing the paradigm still followed by the scientific community today.Bernard, Claude An Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine, 1865. First English translation by Henry Copley Greene, published by Macmillan & Co., Ltd., 1927; reprinted in 1949, p. 125.
The earliest references to animal testing are found in the writings of the Greeks in the second and fourth centuries BCE. Aristotle (Αριστοτέλης) (384-322 BCE) and Erasistratus (304-258 BCE) were among the first to perform experiments on living animals.Cohen and Loew 1984. Galen, a physician in second-century Rome, dissected pigs and goats, and is known as the "father of vivisection.""History of nonhuman animal research", Laboratory Primate Advocacy Group.
Animals have been used throughout the history of scientific research. In the 1880s, Louis Pasteur convincingly demonstrated the germ theory of medicine by inducing anthrax in sheep.Mock M, Fouet A (2001). "Anthrax". Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 55: 647–71. doi:10.1146/annurev.micro.55.1.647. PMID 11544370. In the 1890s, Ivan Pavlov famously used dogs to describe classical conditioning.Windholz G (1987). "Pavlov as a psychologist. A reappraisal". Pavlov J Biol Sci 22 (3): 103–12. PMID 3309839. Insulin was first isolated from dogs in 1922, and revolutionized the treatment of diabetes.Gorden P (1997). "Non-insulin dependent diabetes--the past, present and future". Ann. Acad. Med. Singap. 26 (3): 326–30. PMID 9285027. On November 3, 1957, a Russian dog, Laika, became the first of many animals to orbit the earth. In the 1970s, a treatment of leprosy was developed in armadillos,Walgate R (1981). "Armadillos fight leprosy". Nature 291 (5816): 527. PMID 7242665. then given to humans. The ability of humans to change the genetics of animals took a large step forwards in 1974 when Rudolf Jaenisch was able to produce the first transgenic mammal, by integrating DNA from the SV40 virus into the genome of mice.Jaenisch R, Mintz B (1974) Simian virus 40 DNA sequences in DNA of healthy adult mice derived from preimplantation blastocysts injected with viral DNA Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. volume 71 issue 4 pages 1250–4 PMID 4364530 This genetic research progressed rapidly and, in 1996, Dolly the sheep was born, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell.
Toxicology testing became important in the 20th century. In the 19th century, laws regulating drugs were lax. For example, in the U.S., the government could only ban a drug after a company had been prosecuted for selling products that harmed customers. However, in response to a tragedy in 1937 where a drug labeled “Elixir of Sulfanilamide” killed 73 people, the U.S. congress passed laws that required safety testing of drugs, before they could be marketed.Taste of Raspberries, Taste of Death. The 1937 Elixir Sulfanilamide Incident, FDA Consumer magazine June 1981. Similar laws soon followed in other countries.
The controversy surrounding animal testing dates back to the 17th century. In 1655, the advocate of Galenic physiology Edmund O\'Meara said that "the miserable torture of vivisection places the body in an unnatural state."Ryder, Richard D. Animal Revolution: Changing Attitudes Towards Speciesism. Berg Publishers, 2000, p. 54."Animal Experimentation: A Student Guide to Balancing the Issues", Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching (ANZCCART), retrieved December 12, 2007, cites original reference in Maehle, A-H. and Tr6hler, U. Animal experimentation from antiquity to the end of the eighteenth century: attitudes and arguments. In N. A. Rupke (ed.) Vivisection in Historical Perspective. Croom Helm, London, 1987, p. 22. O\'Meara and others argued that animal physiology could be affected by pain during vivisection, rendering results unreliable. There were also objections on an ethical basis, contending that the benefit to humans did not justify the harm to animals. Early objections to animal testing also came from another angle — many people believed that animals were inferior to humans and so different that results from animals could not be applied to humans.
On the other side of the debate, those in favor of animal testing held that experiments on animals were necessary to advance medical and biological knowledge. Claude Bernard, known as the "prince of vivisectors"Croce, Pietro. Vivisection or Science? An Investigation into Testing Drugs and Safeguarding Health. Zed Books, 1999, p. 11. and the father of physiology — whose wife, Marie Françoise Martin, founded the first anti-vivisection society in France in 1883Rudacille, Deborah. The Scalpel and the Butterfly: The Conflict, Farrar Straus Giroux, 2000, p. 19. — famously wrote in 1865 that "the science of life is a superb and dazzlingly lighted hall which may be reached only by passing through a long and ghastly kitchen"."In sickness and in health: vivisection\'s undoing", The Daily Telegraph, November 2003. Arguing that "experiments on animals ... are entirely conclusive for the toxicology and hygiene of man...the effects of these substances are the same on man as on animals, save for differences in degree,"Bernard, Claude An Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine, 1865. First English translation by Henry Copley Greene, published by Macmillan & Co., Ltd., 1927; reprinted in 1949, p125 Bernard established animal experimentation as part of the standard scientific method.LaFollette, H., Shanks, N., Animal Experimentation: the Legacy of Claude Bernard, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science (1994) pp. 195-210. In 1896, the physiologist and physician Dr. Walter B. Cannon said “The antivivisectionists are the second of the two types Theodore Roosevelt described when he said, ‘Common sense without conscience may lead to crime, but conscience without common sense may lead to folly, which is the handmaiden of crime.’ ”[http://www.the-aps.org/publications/tphys/legacy/1991/issue6/303.pdf The Physiologist at the-aps.org A Physiologist’s Views on the Animal Rights/Liberation Movement] by Charles S. Nicoll The Physiologist 34(6): Dec 1991 These divisions between pro- and anti- animal testing groups first came to public attention during the brown dog affair in the early 1900s, when hundreds of medical students clashed with anti-vivisectionists and police over a memorial to a vivisected dog.Mason, Peter. The Brown Dog Affair. Two Sevens Publishing, 1997.
In 1822, the first animal protection law was enacted in the British parliament, followed by the Cruelty to Animals Act (1876), the first law specifically aimed at regulating animal testing. The legislation was promoted by Charles Darwin, who wrote to Ray Lankester in March 1871: "You ask about my opinion on vivisection. I quite agree that it is justifiable for real investigations on physiology; but not for mere damnable and detestable curiosity. It is a subject which makes me sick with horror, so I will not say another word about it, else I shall not sleep to-night."The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, Volume II, fullbooks.com.Bowlby, John. Charles Darwin: A New Life, W. W. Norton & Company, 1991. p. 420. Opposition to the use of animals in medical research first arose in the United States during the 1860s, when Henry Bergh founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), with America\'s first specifically anti-vivisection organization being the American AntiVivisection Society (AAVS), founded in 1883. Antivivisectionists of the era generally believed the spread of mercy was the great cause of civilization, and vivisection was cruel. However, in the USA the antivivisectionists\' efforts were defeated in every legislature, overwhelmed by the superior organization and influence of the medical community. Overall, this movement had little legislative success until the passing of the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act, in 1966.Buettinger, Craig Antivivisection and the charge of zoophil-psychosis in the early twentieth century. The Historian 1 January 1993
The regulations that apply to animals in laboratories vary across species. In the U.S., under the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act and the National Institutes of Health\'s (NIH) Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (the Guide), any procedure can be performed on an animal if it can be successfully argued that it is scientifically justified. In general, researchers are required to consult with the institution\'s veterinarian and its Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), which every research facility is obliged to maintain.Carbone, Larry. \'"What Animal Want: Expertise and Advocacy in Laboratory Animal Welfare Policy. Oxford University Press, 2004, pp. 68-69. The IACUC must ensure that alternatives, including non-animal alternatives, have been considered, that the experiments are not unnecessarily duplicative, and that pain relief is given unless it would interfere with the study. Larry Carbone, a laboratory animal veterinarian, writes that, in his experience, IACUCs take their work very seriously regardless of the species involved, though the use of non-human primates always raises what he calls a "red flag of special concern."Carbone 2004, p. 94.
Mice, rats, and birds are not included in the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act (though they are included in the Guide) and over the years, the definition of "animal" used by Congress and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has changed several times to ensure that certain animals are included in protective legislation and that others, particularly farm animals, are excluded.Carbone 2004, pp. 70-71.
Accurate global figures for animal testing are difficult to obtain. The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) estimates that 100 million vertebrates are experimented on around the world every year, 10–11 million of them in the European Union."Vivisection FAQ, British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics reports that global annual estimates range from 50 to 100 million animals.
None of the figures, including those given in this article, include invertebrates, such as shrimp and fruit flies.The Ethics of research involving animals Nuffield Council on Bioethics, Accessed 27 February 2008 Animals bred for research then killed as surplus, animals used for breeding purposes, and animals not yet weaned (which most laboratories do not count)Carbone 2004, p. 26. are also not included in the figures.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the total number of animals used in that country in 2005 was almost 1.2 million,2005 Report on Enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act U.S. Department of Agriculture, Accessed 08 February 2008 but this does not include rats and mice, which make up about 90% of research animals.The humane care and treatment of laboratory animals National Association of Biomedical Research, Accessed 08 February 2008Frankie L. Trull and Barbara A. Rich (1999) "More Regulation of Rodents" Science, Volume 284. number 5419, page 1463. DOI 10.1126/science.284.5419.1463 In 1995, researchers at Tufts University Center for Animals and Public Policy estimated that 14-21 million animals were used in American laboratories in 1992, a reduction from a high of 50 million used in 1970.Rowan, A., Loew, F., and Weer, J. (1995) "The Animal Research Controversy. Protest, Process and Public Policy: An Analysis of Strategic Issues." Tufts University, North Grafton. cited in Carbone 2004, p. 26. In 1986, the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment reported that estimates of the animals used in the U.S. range from 10 million to upwards of 100 million each year, and that their own best estimate was at least 17 million to 22 million.Alternatives to Animal Use in Research, Testing and Education, U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment, Washington, D.C.:Government Printing Office, 1986, p. 64. In 1966, the Laboratory Animal Breeders Association estimated in testimony before Congress that the number of mice, rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, and rabbits used in 1965 was around 60 million. (Hearings before the Subcommittee on Livestock and Feed Grains, Committee on Agriculture, U.S. House of Representatives, 1966, p. 63.) In 2004, the Department of Agriculture listed 64,932 dogs, 23,640 cats, 54,998 non-human primates, 244,104 guinea pigs, 175,721 hamsters, 261,573 rabbits, 105,678 farm animals, and 171,312 other mammals, a total of 1,101,958, a figure that includes all mammals except purpose-bred mice and rats. The use of dogs and cats in research in the U.S. decreased from 1973 to 2004 from 195,157 to 64,932, and from 66,165 to 23,640, respectively. ("Foundation for Biomedical Research, Quick Facts)
In the UK, Home Office figures show that nearly three million procedures were carried out in 2004 on just under the same number of animals."Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals", Great Britain, 2004, p. 14. It is the third consecutive annual rise and the highest figure since 1992.Jha, Alok. "RSPCA outrage as experiments on animals rise to 2.85m", The Guardian, December 9, 2005. Most animals are used in only one procedure: animals either die because of the experiment or are euthanized afterwards. A "procedure" refers to an experiment that might last minutes, several months, or years.
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Fruit flies are commonly used. |
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A white Wistar lab rat. |
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Although many more invertebrates than vertebrates are used, these experiments are largely unregulated by law. The most used invertebrate species are Drosophila melanogaster, a fruit fly, and Caenorhabditis elegans, a nematode worm. In the case of C. elegans, the worm\'s body is completely transparent and the precise lineage of all the organism\'s cells is known,Antoshechkin I, Sternberg PW (2007) "The versatile worm: genetic and genomic resources for Caenorhabditis elegans research" Nat. Rev. Genet. volume 8 issue 7 pages 518–32 PMID 17549065 while studies in the fly D. melanogaster can use an amazing array of genetic tools.Matthews KA, Kaufman TC, Gelbart WM (2005) "Research resources for Drosophila: the expanding universe" Nat. Rev. Genet. volume 6 issue 3 pages 179–93 PMID 15738962 These animals offer great advantages over vertebrates, including their short life cycle and the ease with which large numbers may be studied, with thousands of flies or nematodes fitting into a single room. However, the lack of an adaptive immune system and their simple organs prevent worms from being used in medical research such as vaccine development.Schulenburg, H., Kurz, C.L., Ewbank, J.J. "Evolution of the innate immune system: the worm perspective," Immunol. Rev., volume 198, pp. 36-58, 2004. PMID 15199953 Similarly, flies are not widely used in applied medical research, as their immune system differs greatly from that of humans,Leclerc V, Reichhart JM. "The immune response of Drosophila melanogaster," Immunol. Rev.. volume 198, pp. 59-71, 2004. PMID 15199954 and diseases in insects can be very different from diseases in more complex animals.Mylonakis E., Aballay A. "Worms and flies as genetically tractable animal models to study host-pathogen interactions", Infect. Immun., volume 73, issue 7, pp. 3833-41, 2005. PMID 15972468
In the U.S., the numbers of rats and mice used is estimated at 20 million a year. Other rodents commonly used are guinea pigs, hamsters, and gerbils. Mice are the most commonly used vertebrate species because of their size, low cost, ease of handling, and fast reproduction rate.Rosenthal N, Brown S. "The mouse ascending: perspectives for human-disease models," Nat. Cell Biol, Volume 9, issue 9, pp. 993-9, 2007. PMID 17762889 Mice are widely considered to be the best model of inherited human disease and share 99% of their genes with humans. With the advent of genetic engineering technology, genetically modified mice can be generated to order and can provide models for a range of human diseases.
Nearly 200,000 fish and 20,000 amphibians were used in the UK in 2004. "Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain, 2004, British government. The main species used is the zebrafish, Danio rerio, which are translucent during their embryonic stage, and the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis. Over 20,000 rabbits were used for animal testing in the UK in 2004. Albino rabbits are used in eye irritancy tests because rabbits have less tear flow than other animals, and the lack of eye pigment make the effects easier to visualize.
Cats are most commonly used in neurological research. Over 25,500 cats were used in the U.S. in 2000, around half of whom were used in experiments that caused "pain and/or distress".Cat madness: human research using cats AAVS newsletter Winter 2003
Dogs are widely used in biomedical research, testing, and education — particularly beagles, because they are gentle and easy to handle. They are commonly used as models for human diseases in cardiology, endocrinology, and bone and joint studies, research that tends to be highly invasive, according to the Humane Society of the United States.Dog profile, The Humane Society of the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture\'s Animal Welfare Report for 2005 shows that 66,000 dogs were used in USDA-registered facilities in that year. In the U.S., some of the dogs are purpose-bred, while most are supplied by so-called Class B dealers licensed by the USDA to buy animals from auctions, shelters, newspaper ads, and who are sometimes accused of stealing pets.Gillham, Christina. "Bought to be sold", Newsweek, February 17, 2006.
Non-human primates (NHPs) are used in toxicology tests, studies of AIDS and hepatitis, studies of neurology, behavior and cognition, reproduction, genetics, and xenotransplantation. They are caught in the wild or purpose-bred. In the U.S. and China, most primates are domestically purpose-bred, whereas in Europe the majority are imported purpose-bred.International Perspectives: The Future of Nonhuman Primate Resources, Proceedings of the Workshop Held April 17-19, pages 36-45, 46-48, 63-69, 197-200. Rhesus monkeys, cynomolgus monkeys, squirrel monkeys, and owl monkeys are imported; around 12,000 to 15,000 monkeys are imported into the U.S. annually.Primatology FAQ In total, around 70,000 NHPs are used each year in the United States and European Union. Most of the NHPs used are macaques; but marmosets, spider monkeys, and squirrel monkeys are also used, and baboons and chimpanzees are used in the U.S; in 2006 there were 1133 chimpanzees in U.S. primate centers.Science article on chimps in the USA Notable studies on non-human primates have been part of the polio vaccine development, and development of Deep Brain Stimulation, and their current heaviest non-toxicological use occurs in the monkey AIDS model, SIV.Kathleen M. Conlee, Erika H. Hoffeld and Martin L. Stephens Demographic Analysis of Primate Research in the United States ATLA 32, Supplement 1, 315–322, 2004
Animals used by laboratories are largely supplied by specialist dealers. Sources differ for vertebrate and invertebrate animals. Most laboratories breed and raise flies and worms themselves, using strains and mutants supplied from a few main stock centers.Invertebrate Animal Resources National Center for Research Resources, Accessed 15th December 2007 For vertebrates, sources include breeders who supply purpose-bred animals; businesses that trade in wild animals; and dealers who supply animals sourced from pounds, auctions, and newspaper ads. Animal shelters also supply the laboratories directly."Who\'s Who of Federal Oversight of Animal Issues", Aesop Project. Large centers also exist to distribute strains of genetically-modified animals; the National Institutes of Health Knockout Mouse Project, for example, aims to provide knockout mice for every gene in the mouse genome.Collins FS, Rossant J, Wurst W. (2007) "A mouse for all reasons", Cell, volume 128, issue 1, pages 9–13. PMID 17218247
In the U.S., Class A breeders are licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to sell animals for research purposes, while Class B dealers are licensed to buy animals from "random sources" such as auctions, pound seizure, and newspaper ads. Some Class B dealers have been accused of kidnapping pets and illegally trapping strays, a practice known as bunching.
Four states in the U.S. — Minnesota, Utah, Oklahoma, and Iowa — require their shelters to provide animals to research facilities. Fourteen states explicitly prohibit the practice, while the remainder either allow it or have no relevant legislation.Animal Testing: Where Do the Animals Come From? American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. According to the ASPCA, the following states prohibit shelters from providing animals for research: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, and West Virginia.
In the European Union, animal sources are governed by Council Directive 86/609/EEC, which requires lab animals to be specially bred, unless the animal has been lawfully imported and is not a wild animal or a stray. The latter requirement may also be exempted by special arrangement.Council Directive 86/609/EEC of 24 November 1986 In the UK, most animals used in experiments are bred for the purpose under the 1988 Animal Protection Act, but wild-caught primates may be used if exceptional and specific justification can be established.Brooman, Simon and Legge, Debbie. Law Relating to Animals, Taylor & Francis Group, 1999."Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals", Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Home Office, 2004, p. 87. The United States also allows the use of wild-caught primates; between 1995 and 1999, 1,580 wild baboons were imported into the U.S. Over half the primates imported between 1995 and 2000 were handled by Charles River Laboratories, Inc., or by Covance, which is the single largest importer of primates into the U.S.U.S. Primate Imports Spike International Primate Protection League April 2007
The extent to which animal testing causes pain and suffering, and the capacity of animals to experience and comprehend them, is the subject of much debate.Duncan IJ, Petherick JC. (1991) "The implications of cognitive processes for animal welfare", J. Anim. Sci., volume 69, issue 12, pages 5017–22. PMID 1808195; Curtis SE, Stricklin WR. (1991) "The importance of animal cognition in agricultural animal production systems: an overview", J. Anim. Sci.. volume 69, issue 12, pages 5001–7. PMID 1808193
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2006 about 670,000 animals (not including rats, mice, birds, or invertebrates) were used in procedures that did not include more than momentary pain or distress. About 420,000 were used in procedures in which pain or distress was relieved by anesthesia, while 84,000 were used in studies that would cause pain or distress that would not be relieved.
In the UK, research projects are classified as mild, moderate, and substantial in terms of the suffering the researchers conducting the study say they may cause; a fourth category of "unclassified" means the animal was anesthetized and killed without recovering consciousness, according to the researchers. In December 2001, 39 percent (1,296) of project licenses in force were classified as mild, 55 percent (1,811) as moderate, two percent (63) as substantial, and 4 percent (139) as unclassified.Ryder, Richard D. "Speciesism in the laboratory," in Singer, Peter. In Defense of Animals: The Second Wave. Blackwell, 2006. p. 99. Although there have been suggestions of systemic underestimation of procedure severityTownsend, Mark. "Exposed: secrets of the animal organ lab", The Observer, April 20, 2003. The Home Office response to these allegations is Imutran Ltd: Response to the Home Affairs Committee - licensing and regulating the xenotransplantation research, 14 October, 2003
The idea that animals might not feel pain as human beings feel it traces back to the 17th-century French philosopher, René Descartes, who argued that animals do not experience pain and suffering because they lack consciousness.Carbone, Larry. \'"What Animal Want: Expertise and Advocacy in Laboratory Animal Welfare Policy. Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 149. Bernard Rollin of Colorado State University, the principal author of two U.S. federal laws regulating pain relief for animals,Rollin drafted the 1985 Health Research Extension Act and an animal welfare amendment to the 1985 Food Security Act: see Rollin, Bernard. "Animal research: a moral science. Talking Point on the use of animals in scientific research", EMBO reports 8, 6, 2007, pp. 521–525 writes that researchers continued remained unsure into the 1980s as to whether animals experience pain, and that veterinarians trained in the U.S. before 1989 were simply taught to ignore animal pain.Rollin, Bernard. The Unheeded Cry: Animal Consciousness, Animal Pain, and Science. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989, pp. xii, 117-118, cited in Carbone 2004, p. 150. In his interactions with scientists and other veterinarians, he was regularly asked to "prove" that animals are conscious, and to provide "scientifically acceptable" grounds for claiming that they feel pain. Carbone writes that the view that animals feel pain differently is now a minority view. Academic reviews of the topic are more equivocal, noting that although the argument that animals have at least simple conscious thoughts and feelings has strong support,Griffin DR, Speck GB (2004) "New evidence of animal consciousness" Anim. Cogn. volume 7 issue 1 pages=5–18 PMID 14658059 some critics continue to question how reliably animal mental states can be determined.Allen C (1998) Assessing animal cognition: ethological and philosophical perspectives J. Anim. Sci. volume 76 issue 1 pages 42-7 PMID 9464883 The ability of invertebrate species of animals, such as insects, to feel pain and suffering is also unclear.Lockwood JA (1987) The Moral Standing of Insects and the Ethics of Extinction The Florida Entomologist, Volume 70, Number 1, pages 70-89DeGrazia D, Rowan A (1991) Pain, suffering, and anxiety in animals and humans Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics Volume 12, Number 3, pages 193-211
The defining text on animal welfare regulation, "Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals" defines the parameters that govern animal testing in the USA. It states "The ability to experience and respond to pain is widespread in the animal kingdom...Pain is a stressor and, if not relieved, can lead to unacceptable levels of stress and distress in animals."Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, ILAR, National Research Council, 1996 copyright, pg 64 The Guide states that the ability to recognize the symptoms of pain in different species is vital in efficiently applying pain relief and that it is essential for the people caring for and using animals to be entirely familiar with these symptoms. On the subject of analgesics used to relieve pain, the Guide states "The selection of the most appropriate analgesic or anesthetic should reflect professional judgment as to which best meets clinical and humane requirements without compromising the scientific aspects of the research protocol". Accordingly, all issues of animal pain and distress, and their potential treatment with analgesia and anesthesia, are required regulatory issues in receiving animal protocol approval.
There is general agreement that animal life should not be taken wantonly, and regulations require that scientists use as few animals as possible. However, policy makers consider suffering to be the central issue, and see animal euthanasia as a way to reduce suffering, while others, such as the RSPCA, argue that the lives of laboratory animals have intrinsic value.Animal Procedures Committee: review of cost-benefit assessment in the use of animals in research The Animal Procedures Committee, June 2003 p46-7 Regulations focus on whether particular methods cause pain and suffering, not whether their death is undesirable in itself.Carbone, Larry. "Euthanasia," in Bekoff, M. and Meaney, C. Encyclopedia of Animal Rights and Welfare. Greenwood Publishing Group, pp. 164-166, cited in Carbone 2004, pp. 189-190. Researchers call the killing of laboratory animals after an experiment "euthanasia" — literally "good death" — a term applied to all animals, including the young and healthy, although the same term is used of human beings only when the death will end severe suffering that cannot otherwise be relieved. The animals are euthanized at the end of studies for sample collection or post-mortem examination; during studies if their pain or suffering falls into certain categories regarded as unacceptable, such as depression, infection that is unresponsive to treatment, or the failure of large animals to eat for five days;"Euthanasia Guidelines", Research animal resources, University of Minnesota. or when they are unsuitable for breeding or unwanted for some other reason.Close, Bryonyl et al. "Recommendations for euthanasia of experimental animals: Part 1", Laboratory Animals, Volume 30, Number 4, October 1996, p. 295.
Methods of euthanizing laboratory animals are chosen to induce rapid unconsciousness and death without pain or distress.Guide for the care and use of laboratory animals, 1996 Edition, Euthanasia section on pg 65 The methods that are preferred are those published by councils of veterinarians. The animal can be made to inhale a gas, such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, by being placed in a chamber, or by use of a face mask, with or without prior sedation or anesthesia. Sedatives or anesthetics such as barbiturates can be given intravenously, or inhalant anesthetics may be used. Amphibians and fish may be immersed in water containing an anesthetic such as tricaine. Physical methods are also used, with or without sedation or anesthesia depending on the method. Recommended methods include decapitation (beheading) for small rodents or rabbits. Cervical dislocation (breaking the neck or spine) may be used for birds, mice, and immature rats and rabbits. Maceration (grinding into small pieces) is used on 1 day old chicks. High-intensity microwave irradiation of the brain can preserve brain tissue and induce death in less than 1 second, but this is currently only used on rodents. Captive bolts may be used, typically on dogs, ruminants, horses, pigs and rabbits. It causes death by a concussion to the brain. Gunshot may be used, but only in cases where a penetrating captive bolt may not be used. Some physical methods are only acceptable after the animal is unconscious. Electrocution may be used for cattle, sheep, swine, foxes, and mink after the animals are unconscious, often by a prior electrical stun. Pithing (inserting a tool into the base of the brain) is usable on animals already unconscious. Slow or rapid freezing, or inducing air embolism are acceptable only with prior anesthesia to induce unconsciousness.AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia, June 2007 edition Report of the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia, Accessed 08 February 2008
Basic or pure research investigates how organisms behave, develop, and function. Those opposed to animal testing object that pure research may have little or no practical purpose, but researchers argue that it may produce unforeseen benefits, rendering the distinction between pure and applied research — research that has a specific practical aim — unclear.Select Committee on Animals in Scientific Procedures Report, House of Lords, Chapter 3: The purpose and nature of animal experiments.
Pure research uses larger numbers and a greater variety of animals than applied research. Fruit flies, nematode worms, mice and rats together account for the vast majority, though small numbers of other species are used, ranging from sea slugs through to armadillos."An A to Z of laboratory animals" Research Defense Society. Accessed 22nd August 2007; Job, C.K. "Nine-banded armadillo and leprosy research," Indian journal of pathology & microbiology, Volume 46, issue 4, 2003, pp. 541-50. PMID 15025339
Examples of the types of animals and experiments used in basic research include:
Applied research aims to solve specific and practical problems. Compared to pure research, which is largely academic in origin, applied research is usually carried out in the pharmaceutical industry, or by universities in commercial partnerships. These may involve the use of animal models of diseases or conditions, which are often discovered or generated by pure research programmes. In turn, such applied studies may be an early stage in the drug discovery process. Examples include:
Xenotransplantation research involves transplanting tissues, or organs from one species to another, as a way to overcome the shortage of human organs for use in organ transplants.Platt JL, Lin SS (1998) "The future promises of xenotransplantation" Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci., volume 862, pages 5–18, PMID 9928201 Current research involves using primates as the recipients of organs from pigs that have been genetically-modified to reduce the primates\' immune response against the pig tissue.Schuurman HJ, Pierson RN (2008) "Progress towards clinical xenotransplantation" Front. Biosci., volume 13, pages 204–20, PMID 17981539 Although transplant rejection remains a problem, recent clinical trials that involved implanting pig insulin-secreting cells into diabetics did reduce these people\'s need for insulin.Valdés-González RA, Dorantes LM, Garibay GN, et al (2005) "Xenotransplantation of porcine neonatal islets of Langerhans and Sertoli cells: a 4-year study" Eur. J. Endocrinol., volume 153, issue 3, pages 419–27, PMID 16131605Valdés-González RA, White DJ, Dorantes LM, et al (2007) "Three-yr follow-up of a type 1 diabetes mellitus patient with an islet xenotransplant" Clin Transplant, volume 21, issue 3, pages 352–7, PMID 17488384
The British Home Office released figures in 1999 showing that 270 monkeys had been used in xenotransplantation research in Britain during the previous four years. Documents leaked from Huntingdon Life Sciences to The Observer in 2003 showed, between 1994 and 2000, wild baboons were imported to the UK from Africa to be used in experiments that involved grafting pigs\' hearts and kidneys onto the primates\' necks, abdomens, and chests. The Observer reports that some baboons died after suffering strokes, vomiting, diarrhea, and paralysis, while others died en route to the UK. The experiments were conducted by Imutran Ltd, a subsidiary of Novartis Pharma AG in conjunction with Cambridge University and Huntingdon Life Sciences. Novartis told the newspaper that developing new cures for humans invariably means experimenting on live animals.Townsend, Mark. "Exposed: secrets of the animal organ lab", The Observer, April 20, 2003.
The newspaper also wrote that researchers were deliberately underestimating the suffering in order to obtain licences. A report from Imutran said: "The Home Office will attempt to get the kidney transplants classified as \'moderate,\' ensuring that it is easier for Imutran to receive a licence and ignoring the \'severe\' nature of these programmes."Townsend, Mark. "Exposed: secrets of the animal organ lab", The Observer, April 20, 2003."Diaries of despair", xenodiaries.org, Uncaged Campaigns, retrieved June 18, 2006.
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A rabbit during a Draize test. Source: PETA |
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Toxicology testing, also known as safety testing, is conducted by pharmaceutical companies testing drugs, or by contract animal testing facilities, such as Huntingdon Life Sciences, on behalf of a wide variety of customers.Household Product Tests BUAV According to 2005 EU figures, around one million animals are used every year in Europe in toxicology tests; which are about 10% of all procedures.Fifth Report on the Statistics on the Number of Animals used for Experimental and other Scientific Purposes in the Member States of the European Union Commission of the European Communities, published November 2007 According to Nature, 5,000 animals are used for each chemical being tested, with 12,000 needed to test pesticides.Abbott, Alison. "Animal testing: More than a cosmetic change" Nature 438, 144-146, November 10, 2005. The tests are conducted without anesthesia, because interactions between drugs can affect how animals detoxify chemicals, and may interfere with the results.Watkins JB (1989). "Exposure of rats to inhalational anesthetics alters the hepatobiliary clearance of cholephilic xenobiotics". J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 250 (2): 421–7. PMID 2760837.
Toxicology tests are used to examine finished products such as pesticides, medications, food additives, packing materials, and air freshener, or their chemical ingredients. Most tests involve testing ingredients rather than finished products, but according to BUAV, manufacturers believe these tests overestimate the toxic effects of substances; they therefore repeat the tests using their finished products to obtain a less toxic label.
The substances are applied to the skin or dripped into the eyes; injected intravenously, intramuscularly, or subcutaneously; inhaled either by placing a mask over the animals and restraining them, or by placing them in an inhalation chamber; or administered orally, through a tube into the stomach, or simply in the animal\'s food. Doses may be given once, repeated regularly for many months, or for the lifespan of the animal.
There are several different types of acute toxicity tests. The LD50 ("Lethal Dose 50%") test is used to evaluate the toxicity of a substance by determining the dose required to kill 50% of the test animal population. This test was removed from OECD international guidelines in 2002, replaced by methods such as the fixed dose procedure, which use fewer animals and cause less suffering.Walum E Acute oral toxicity Environ. Health Perspect. volume 106 Suppl 2 pages 498–499 1998 pmid 9599698Inter-Governmental Organization Eliminates the LD50 Test, The Humane Society of the United States, accessed 17 January 2008 Nature writes that, as of 2005, "the LD50 acute toxicity test ... still accounts for one-third of all animal [toxicity] tests worldwide."
Irritancy is usually measured using the Draize test, where a test substance is applied to an animal\'s eyes or skin, usually an albino rabbit. For Draize eye testing, the recommended protocol involves observing the effects of the substance at intervals and grading any damage or irritation, but that the test should be halted and the animal killed if it shows "continuing signs of severe pain or distress".OECD guideline 405 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Accessed 19 January 2008 The Humane Society of the United States writes that the procedure can cause redness, ulceration, hemorrhaging, cloudiness, or even blindness.Species Used in Research: Rabbit Humane Society of the United States, Accessed 19 January 2008 This test has also been criticized by scientists for being cruel and inaccurate, subjective, over-sensitive, and failing to reflect human exposures in the real world.Wilhelmus, K.R. "The Draize eye test," Surv Ophthalmol volume 45, issue 6, 2001, pages 493–515, PMID 11425356 Although no accepted in vitro alternatives exist, a modified form of the Draize test called the low volume eye test may reduce suffering and provide more realistic results, but it has not yet replaced the original test.Secchi A., Deligianni V. "Ocular toxicology: the Draize eye test," Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol volume 6, issue 5, 2006, pp. 367–72.
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