guidelines in animal testing

Question 1

housing and care

Answer 1

• enough space to move freely.
• sufficient food and water.
• aspects of natural environment important for survival need to be kept ( warmth, room for exercise).
• human contact needs to be appropriate for the species (e.g: dogs would not see humans as predators but other animals might).

Question 2

anaesthesia and euthanasia

Answer 2

• animals protected from pain during surgical procedures.
• should be euthanised if suffering and unable to function and maintain a high standard of life.

Question 3

ethics and legislation

Answer 3

• means must justify the ends.
• suffering must be minimised.
• cost to animals must be justified by the scientific benefit of the work.

Question 4

number of animals used

Answer 4

• only the minimum number of animals required to produce valid results should be used
  studies must be carefully planned

Question 5

wild animals

Answer 5

• disturbance to free living animals should be minimised
• if animals need to be studied in their habitats Then the species should be carefully considered

Question 6

suppliers

Answer 6

-captive bred animals must be obtained from home office registered supplier to prevent malpractice.

Question 7

isolation and crowding

Answer 7

• when caging animals, researchers must find ways to reduce distress.
• overcrowding avoided.

-and sociable species should be with other species of its kind.

Question 8

reward and deprivation

Answer 8

• when planning deprivation studies researchers should consider the normal feeding and drinking patterns of animals.
• if necessary to deprive an animal of food, a preferred food would be good to use as a reward.

Question 9

What are the 3R’s (home office regulations)?

Answer 9

• replacing - using animals that show no signs of self awareness or intelligence
• reducing - the number of animals used
• refining - procedures to minimise suffering

Question 10

What is the Bateson decision cube ?

Answer 10

• assess the benefits of research, and whether research on animals should go ahead
  1) QUALITY OF RESEARCH - is the research worth it
  2) ANIMAL SUFFERING - will the animal suffer physically or emotionally
  3) CERTAINTY OF BENEFIT - consider whether the experiment is justifiable

Question 11

What is the scientific procedures act(1986)?

Answer 11

• covers all animal research
• all procedures must be carried out by someone holding a project license and must be done in a scientific procedure establishment
  -animals who have undergone anaesthesia cannot be used fo more procedures, humane killing can be done to alleviate suffering
• care for animals- suitable accommodation, food, water, space, caging must reduce potential distress (social animals should be put with other animals)

Question 12

What are the reasons for animals in experiments?

Answer 12

-high in internal validity, highly controlled environment
-cost benefit analysis must be considered
- evolutionary continuity- same background, may be able to generalise
- we can compare generations more easily allowing for more valid conclusions

Question 13

What are the reasons against animals in experiments?

Answer 13

• cant generalise, animal brains and genetics cant be compared to that of a human
• faulty over generalisations (rat findings onto humans - ratomorphism) (human like traits onto animals- anthropomorphism)
• studies lack ecological validity
• unethical - suffer greatly, stress, operations, painful, irreversible