3. Animal Ethics Flashcards
what is Sentience
when one refers to animals welfare and animal rights,
sentience implies the ability to experience pleasure and pain
moral feelings
serve as a guide to whether something is right or wrong
ethics
an intellectual attempt to understand and improve our moral judgement
what are the three main ethical approaches to use of animals for research
- contractarianism
- ulilitarianism
- Deontology
deontology
- believe animals have a value equal to oneself
- wrong to use animals as a means to do good things for others
- the use of animals in research is wrong
utilitarianism
aims to create the greatest possible sum of welfare across individuals
- the right action is the one which brings about the best aggregate consequences
- total benefits outweigh total suffering
contractarianism
only humans matter
- if you scratch my back i’ll scratch yours. but we have no social contact with animals and therefore no duties towards them.
what are the three Rs
replacement
reduction
refinement
replacement
essentially using a non animal option
reduction
using as few animals as possible
refinement
- manage the environment to meet the physical and psychological needs of the animals
- use anesthesia, analgesia to minimize any pain and distress during experimental procedures
the additional 2 Rs
respect and responsibility
what are the 5 desires of animals
- food and water
- shelter
- companionship
- freedom of movement
- avoidance of pain
what benefits was there to animal research in the 1990s (examples)
- improved medicines for depression
- medicines for type 2 diabetes
- new medicines for asthma
- medicines for breast and prostate cancer
benefits animal research brought in the 2000s
- bird flu vaccine
- cervical cancer vaccine
