Animal ethics Flashcards
Which ethics theory is applied to animal research?
Utalitarian
what is the animal scientific procedures act (ASPA)?
regulates procedures carried out on protected animals for scientific and educational perposes but that may cause pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm
what is a protected animal?
Any living vertebrate and any living cephalopod other than human
regulated procedure?
procedure carried out on a protective animal that may cause pain for example injections, infection
1st ASPA rule
take place in research institutes or companies which have appropriate animal accommodation and vet facilities. have to be granted an establishment licence (PEL)
what to remember about unregulated procedures
repeated use of animals for procedures such as behvour research = cumlative effects = push them into regulation
2nd ASPA rule
be part of a approved research or testing programme which has been given a project licence (PPL)
3rs ASPA rule
be carried out by people with sufficient training, skills and experience as shown in their personal licence (PIL)
Project license (PPL) on granted if…
- research can’t be done using non-animal methods
- minimum number of animals will be used
discomfort or suffering kept to a minim (painkiller or anaesthetic)
-results are important to justify (harm benefit analysis) - researchers have skills, training and experience
- facilities to look after animals (Home office code of practise)
What does AWERB stand for?
Animal welfare and Ethical review board
what does the AWERB do
new animal projects must undergo ethical review carried out by it
key task of AWERB
support staff dealing with animals on animal welfare, ethical issues and provision of training - communication and engagement is essential
What are the three Rs?
Replacement, Reduction, refinement
replacement
methods the avoids the use of animals: accelerating the development and use of predictive and robust models based latest technologies to address important scientific questions
What is full replacment?
use of human volunteer, tissues, cells, mathematical and computer models and cell lines
partial replacement
use of animals based on current scientific thinking are not considered capable of experience suffering e.g invertebrates such as drosophila
also includes tissues taken from animals killed solely for this purpose
What is reduction?
methods that reduce the number of animals used in an experiment
experiments are designed and analysed appropriately
information gathered per animal to be maximised in order to reduce the use of additional animals (longitudinal measurement’s)
what is refinement?
methods that minimise any pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm (experimental or raising and breeding)
pain alters animals behaviour - leads to variation in experimental results which impairs both the reliability and repeatability