Abstract
Simple SummaryWhen making a choice of species for animal experimentation we must balance its suitability as a model for human medicine against the potential harms to the animals both from the procedures and the quality of their lifetime experience. The capacity to experience pain may be similar in mammals, birds and fish. The capacity to suffer from fear is governed more by sentience than cognitive ability, so it cannot be assumed that rodents or farm animals suffer less than dogs or primates. I suggest that it is unethical to base the choice of species for animal experimentation simply on the basis that it will cause less distress within society.Ethical principles governing the conduct of experiments with animals are reviewed, especially those relating to the choice of species. Legislation requires that the potential harm to animals arising from any procedure should be assessed in advance and justified in terms of its possible benefit to society. Potential harms may arise both from the procedures and the quality of the animals’ lifetime experience. The conventional approach to species selection is to use animals with the “lowest degree of neurophysiological sensitivity”. However; this concept should be applied with extreme caution in the light of new knowledge. The capacity to experience pain may be similar in mammals, birds and fish. The capacity to suffer from fear is governed more by sentience than cognitive ability, so it cannot be assumed that rodents or farm animals suffer less than dogs or primates. I suggest that it is unethical to base the choice of species for animal experimentation simply on the basis that it will cause less distress within society. A set of responsibilities is outlined for each category of moral agent. These include regulators, operators directly concerned with the conduct of scientific experiments and toxicology trials, veterinarians and animal care staff; and society at large.
Highlights
Simple Summary: When making a choice of species for animal experimentation we must balance its suitability as a model for human medicine against the potential harms to the animals both from the procedures and the quality of their lifetime experience
They require that the potential harms to animals under experiment should be assessed in advance and justified in terms of their possible benefit to the society of humans or other animals
The principles that govern the need to minimise harm are encapsulated within the classic triad of Russel and Burch [5], namely “reduction, replacement, and refinement”; the three R’s
Summary
“The great fault of all ethics hitherto has been that they believed themselves to have to deal only with the relations of man to man. When there is no realistic alternative we need to ask: “How do the potential benefits accruing from the choice of a particular species rank against any changes, for better or worse, in the harm done to the test animals?” This paper will examine the question within the context of key principles and theories of moral philosophy and good husbandry, namely the educated and compassionate care of animals used in scientific procedures. Many of the views expressed in this paper emerged from productive discussion with my colleagues Peter Bollen, Herwig Grimm and Maggie Jennings during the preparation of an earlier paper on the ethical implications of using the minipig in regulatory toxicology studies [6]
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