animal ethics and use in research Flashcards
what is animal ethics and morality?
- Animal Ethics in scientific research: The moral principles that govern how we treat animals that are experimented on.
- Morality: What is considered right and acceptable treatment of animals in research?
where do you stand?
In favour of animal experiments if:
- pain and suffering kept to a minimum
- Human benefits are gained that cannot be obtained using non animal methods
Against animal experiments:
- Experimenting on animals is always unacceptable
- Any benefits that animal testing has provided could have been produced using non animal methods
what is contractarianism?
- A type of moral theory that employs the idea of contracts between individuals to govern their interactions.
- Each of us have our own interests that we are entitled to pursue, however we can benefit from the help of others.
“We should care about animal welfare, because consumers demand it and we want to sell products”
“To improve the quality of animal research, one should be concerned about animal welfare.”–>if animals not in correct positions-= behavior may change= can affect results
What is utilitarianism?
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that determines right from wrong by focusing on outcomes. It is a form of consequentialism. Utilitarianism holds that the most ethical choice is the one that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number.
- Actions are right if they are useful or beneficial to the majority
- Animals deserve moral considerations, in our dealing with animals we must consider the welfare consequences as well as the potential benefits to humans/animals.
- “Modern animal production is problematic because there is a negative effect on animal welfare which is not counterbalanced by the human benefits”
- “Some animal research may be justified by its vital importance, as it may enable us to find cures for alleviate painful diseases.”
what is the relational view?
- Highlights the importance of our relationships to animals and is based upon considering animals in a sort of hierarchical order.
- Have special duties to domestic animals because they are in our care
- Considers how our treatment of animals might affect our treatment of humans.
- “A dog is a man’s best friend, so it should be treated better than animals on farms and in laboratories.”
- “We have no duties to pests like mice and rats, except to get rid of them as efficiently as possible.”
Describe PETA’s animal rights view
- Directly opposes the concept of animal use, puts clear and definitive limits on our treatment of animals (abolitionist position)
- Animals should have the same considerations as human beings, the right not to suffer or be killed for human benefit.
- Experiments on animals are unacceptable, regardless of the potential benefits involved.
- “Animals are not our slaves.”
what is “the respect for nature” view?
- The moral value of species. We have a duty to protect not just individual animals, but the species to which they belong – and, in particular, the integrity of each species.
- The preservation of species is morally good, should respect nature and its rich genetic structures. Not genetically modify species (disrespectful interference), selective breeding.
- “Endangered species have to be protected from extinction.”
- “We should leave animals the way evolution made them.”
why do we need to use animals in research?
- Ideally, we wouldn’t (–> would use cell culture, scanning techniques, mathematic modelling etc)
- 90% research uses non animal methods
- However; cells behave differently in vitro to in vivo (digestive system, different chemical ques, different interactions etc; 3D structure)
- Most of the medicines we have today come from animal research
- Contributed to 70% of the Nobel prizes e.g. for Polio myelitis; affected so many people in the UK
- Understanding animal ill-health–> a lot of work people complete using animals has a knock-on effect on animals e.g. better farming methods and treatment of ill animals
- Research scientist seek to alleviate pain and suffering…rigorous HO monitoring
name some research approaches
• Study of human beings and populations
• In vitro techniques
• In vivo techniques
• In silico techniques (computer modelling)
• UK law:
“animals must never be used when there is an alternative”.
“no new medicine may be trialled in humans until it has been thoroughly tested in other ways.”
IN VITRO EXPERIMENTS • Many different forms • Cheaper • Quicker • iPSCs/organoids very promising: Can grow small organoids and get 3D whole organism like testing environment. Induced pluripotent stem cells.
• Interesting work in wound repair for MIs
– Can build a scaffold of myocardial cells
– Dedifferentiate skin cells into cardiac myocytes= grow them on a heart scaffold= beat similarly to a heart
- But cannot ever fully replicate a living system
- E.g if you had HIV growing in a test tube= pour bleach= kills HIV virus BUT that isn’t a treatment for HIV in patients!
- Might work in a dish but not same metabolism as humans= won’t be a therapeutic candidate
COMPUTER MODELLING
• “Computers can do amazing things. But even the most powerful computers can’t replace animal experiments in medical research.” – Professor Stephen Hawking, 1996
• Basic understanding needed before programming possible
• Limited processing power
mad
what about testing on humans?
- Fine for certain experimentation (questionnaires, certain psychological tests)
- Drug toxicity without prior testing on animals (a lot of toxicity in drugs won’t be recognised unless tested in animal model= dangerous pursuit)
- In who? –> some have volunteered but horrible cases sometimes
- Should we all have to? Animal activists may think we have a part to play in this
- Self-testing by scientists, e.g. Dr Barry Marshall & Helicobacter pylori:
Many believed that peptic ulcers were due to stress and eating spicy food etc.
He believed that it was due to helicobacter pylori! He was so sure that he took a culture of H.pylori and infected himself= developed a really bad infection really quickly–> foul breath, stomach upset etc–> took antibiotics and got rid of it.
Big turning point of peptic ulcers
why use animals?
- Systems similar to humans
- Most human diseases exist in ≥1 other spp
- Side effects and efficacy of drugs only show up in in vivo tests
- Whole system complexity of interactions only replicable in vivo
- Law says so! (test animal before we can test on humans)
give examples on how animal research has contributed to medicine
1920s- insulin (Dogs, rabbits, mice)
1960s- heart transplants (dogs)
The use of dogs and primates going less and less over the years and using animals like mice more over the years
TRENDS OVER TIME:
Massive increase in animal use from 1939 to upwards
- Every year, have to send back the number of procedures used animals in to HO
- Massive increase from 1939 and then starts to drop off in the 80s
- There is a drop-in use of un-modified animals= used techniques to genetically modify animals easier using CRISPR, KAS9 etc now
madd
