Re-Seeing Animal Research Ethics in Light of COVID-19

Abstract

As public health measures emerged in response to a rapidly spreading COVID-19, many university administrators asked animal researchers and veterinarians to work together to ‘depopulate’ their captive animal populations. As the research world has scrambled to better understand SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, various animal models have been used. I will focus this chapter on a critical discussion of core values or commitments in animal research ethics and the scientific use of animals in the time of COVID-19. To date, animal research ethics reflects a decidedly ‘Western’ bias. However, a number of Buddhist philosophical and ethical commitments should inform a global discussion of animal use in science, not least because they foreground considerations neglected or too quickly downplayed in ‘Western’ animal bioethics. My critical approach draws on Buddhist animal bioethics to show how some emergent fundamental principles in animal research ethics can be strengthened to the benefit of all sentient animals.