Humane Science
Harming animals in the name of science is morally indefensible, but there are also important scientific problems with using animals that cannot be ignored.
Statistics
It is estimated that on average 115 million animals are used and/or killed in the name of science every year, worldwide. The UK is one of the largest animal testing countries in the world and by its own admission, the largest in Europe, using at least 3 million animals every single year. Not only are these experiments conducted on animals people care deeply about such as primates, dogs and rabbits but only about a third of the experiments are actually testing new drugs for human diseases. For more information click here.
Key Criticisms
Animal experiments can be criticised on a number of levels. Because animals do not get many of the human diseases we do such as heart disease, many types of cancer, HIV, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, etc, they have to be artificially induced in the animal. The resulting ‘animal models’ are usually therefore very crude and incomplete representatives of the human disease. Because the animals are often stressed the results may also be very variable and difficult to interpret. It is not surprising to find that treatments tested on these models rarely work in humans, with the danger that not only is money and time being wasted (as well as animal life) but that effective treatments are being mistakenly discarded. For more information click here.
Animal testing on trial
Claims that animal testing has, or will, lead to cures for every human ailment are very powerful. It is this fear of not wanting to halt medical progress that allows animal researchers to continue relatively unchallenged. However, there is very little scientific evidence for these grand claims. Indeed when scientists review the effectiveness of animal experiments over time, the results are damning. The promise of advanced models using genetically modified animals is also sadly doomed to failure. For more information click here.
Alternatives
There are many alternatives to using animals and momentum in this area is growing. We can use cells or tissue grown in the test tube, imaging machines, computer models and volunteer studies. The alternative to not using animals is not harming patients or vulnerable people. It also doesn’t mean halting medical progress. It can however mean improving both the quality and humanity of our science. For some exciting example of alternatives For more information click here.
How do we get there?
So, why, given the lack of evidence for the validity of animal experiments and the promise of alternatives, are animal tests still permitted? Much of the reason is not scientific but down to conservatism within the scientific establishment and bureaucratic hurdles. For more information click here.
