Christine Crawford

cyc5326@psu.edu

The Use of

Animals in

Research

Department of Animal Science AN SC 215 Pets in Society

Animals are susceptible to many of

the same health problems that

humans face - this makes research

into these problems possible

Animals have a much shorter life

span than humans - this allows

results to be found at a much faster

pace as well as how the next

generation may become affected

Sources for this Information Can be Found From:

A Presentation of

the Facts,

Opinions, and

Other Important

Information about

this Controversial

Issue

Overview of Controversial Issues within Laboratory Animal Research

Number of animals used for

research purposes each year or

number of animals used per

experiment

Treatment of animals within the

laboratory setting and the types of

research methods used on these

animals

Pain management and control of

unnecessary pain and procedures

Living conditions for research

animals including housing, food

and water availability, and

enrichment

Why are animals used in research?

Rowan, Andrew N. "Forum: The Benefits

and Ethics of Animal Research." Scientific

American. Scientific American, Inc., Feb.

1997. Web. 30 Nov. 2011.

"Animals Used for Experimenta-

tion." People for the Ethical Treatment of

Animals (PETA): The Animal Rights

Organization. PETA. Web. 08 Nov. 2011.

"11 Facts about Animal Testing."

DoSomething.org. Web. 08 Nov. 2011.

Greek, Ray, Dr. "Too Good to Be

True." OpposingViews.com. N.p., 17 July

2013. Web. 14 Dec. 2013.

Schapiro, Steven J., and Jeffrey I. Everitt.

"Preparation of Animals for Use in the

Laboratory: Issues and Challenges for the

Institutional Animal Care and Use

Committee (IACUC)." Institute for Labora-

tory Animal Research Journal 47.4

(2006).Institute for Laboratory Animal Re-

search Journal. ILAR Journal. Web. 8 Nov.

2011.

"HIV Drugs, Vaccines and Animal

Testing." AVERT. International HIV & AIDS

Charity. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.

Numbers of Animals Used in Research Pros: Cons:

The number of animals used in

laboratory experiments is going down.

In the U.K., the Netherlands, Germany,

and several other European countries,

the total has fallen by half since 1970.

In Canada, mammals have largely been

replaced by fish. In the U.S., roughly

85% of research animals are rats, mice,

and birds, limiting use of dogs, cats,

and primates. Rowan et al

Legislation Regarding Animals Used in Research Pros: Cons:

Over 100 million animals are burned,

crippled, poisoned and abused in U.S.

labs every year. DoSomething.org

Pain and suffering still occur in animal

testing facilities, and they cannot be

monitored at all times so the sort of

treatment animals receive on a daily

basis can never truly be known.

Avert.org

All an animal can do is sit and wait in

fear of the next terrifying and painful

procedure that will be performed on

them. They shake and cower in fear

whenever someone walks past their

cages and their blood pressure

spikes drastically. PETA

Members of institutional animal care

and use committees (IACUCs) are

specifically charged during protocol

review with assuring that investigators

have searched the literature and have

provided justification that there are no

alternatives for the proposed use of

animals. Schapiro et al

The principle of the Three Rs sets out

goals for the approval by IACUC in

which researchers must search for al-

ternatives. These three goals include:

Treatment of Animals , Pain Management Issues, and Animal Welfare Concerns Pros: Cons:

They indicate that in 1995, 54% of the

regulated animals had no pain or

distress, 37% had distress alleviated

by painkillers, and only 8.8% suffered

unalleviated pain or distress. Rowan

et al

Guidelines are provided for

promoting the acclimation of a

number of species to experimental

settings. especially on how to care for

the animals correctly and how to

prepare them for the tests they will be

doing. proper training of people who

will be working in the laboratories

and with the animals Schapiro et al

Right now, there are still millions of

mice, rats, rabbits, primates, cats,

dogs, and other animals are locked

inside cages in laboratories across the

country. PETA

Up to 90 percent of animals used in

U.S. labs arent counted in the official

statistics of animals tested

DoSomething.org

1. Replacement of animals by in vitro or test-tube

methods

2. Reduction of their numbers by means of

statistical techniques

3. Renement of the experiment so as to cause less suffering Rowan et al

Even animals that are protected under

the AWA can be abused and tortured.

And the law doesnt require the use of

valid alternatives to animals, even if

they are available. DoSomething.org

Even if all the problems with legislation

regarding treatment of animals and

conducting animal studies were

corrected, animal models will never be

of predictive value for humans in terms

of drug and disease response because

animals and humans are examples

of evolved complex systems. Greek

Elie Dolgin. Basic animal research on the rise while pharma looks to new options. Nature Medicine, 16, 1172 (2010). 04 November 2010