Animal research

In recent years, the use of animals in research has become one of the most important questions in research ethics. On the one hand, experiments using animals are important when, for example, testing medicine to ensure that it will not harm people. On the other hand, many feel that we have an obligation to these animals and that we cannot let them suffer for our sake. Already in the Declaration of Helsinki of 1964 it is stated that medical research is to respect the well-being of laboratory animals. How this is to be achieved is regulated by laws, rules and voluntary declarations from various sources. It is not only the experiment itself that can be morally uncertain: the animals are sometimes raised under hard conditions, and are then transported to research institutions to be kept under varying conditions. They are often finally destroyed, which naturally can be done in different ways. It is thus important to safeguard many aspects of laboratory animals' situations.

Animal experiments

What is an animal experiment? It is in most cases what the animal is used for that determines whether an activity is an animal experiment: when an animal is used for scientific research or in instruction (given certain prerequisites), disease diagnosis, development of medicine or chemical products or for other comparable purposes. To create genetically modified animals with the help of gene technology or comparable methods also counts as animal experimenting. The European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for Experimental and other Scientific Purposes also defines what is to be considered a scientific purpose: any experimental or other scientific procedure where that procedure may cause pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm.

Permission to experiment

According to the convention, when it is planned to subject an animal to a procedure in which it will or may experience severe pain that procedure must be specifically declared to and/or authorised by a responsible authority.

Such an authority shall weigh the importance of the experiment against the suffering inflicted to the animal. The committee should only approve of an experiment if it is important for the public and if the aim of the experiment cannot be satisfied by use of another method not involving animal experimentation ('replacement'), if as few animals as is possible are used ('reduction'), and if the animals are not exposed for more suffering than absolutely neccessary ('refinement'). These ethical demands are known as the three Rs.

International standards

There are two European provisions regarding animal research. The above-mentioned European Convention with addenda for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for Experimental and other Scientific Purposes, among other things, regulates when animal experiments are allowed and when they are to be reported to the appropriate authority. The European Union has several regulations regarding animal research, primarily The Council's directive 86/609/EEG regarding the approximation of member states' laws and other statutes on protection of animals used in research and for other scientific purposes, which seeks to implement the European Convention. Further recommendations are given in the commissions guidelines for the accommodation and care of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes, with instructions on the physical facilities, the environment and its control, education and training, animal care, humane killing, and various species-specific guidelines. An action plan on the protection and welfare of animals in the EU has been adopted. See also the Note for Guidance on Genotoxicity Testing and Data Interpretation for Pharmaceuticals Intended for Human Use from EMEA.

The EU is now working on a revision of the Animal Protection Directive. The work can be followed on the EU webpage on laboratory animals. The proposal from the Commission, Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes, states that it will be compulsory to carry out ethical evaluations and contains a ban on the use of great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans) in scientific procedures. The European Science Foundation has issued an ESF-EMRC Position on the Proposed Revision of the Directive on the Protection of Animals Used for Experimental and Other Scientific Purposes.

Some other issues

In a report on xenotransplants, WHO has taken up the issue of the prevention of cruelty to animals. The Good Clinical Practice guideline discusses when and how animal research is to be conducted. The European Science Foundation has published a policy briefing document on the use of animals in research (no 9). The International Association for the Study of Pain has published Ethical Guidelines for Investigations of Experimental Pain in Conscious Animals. Ethicists and scientists have offered advice for testing human brain cells in primates ("Moral Issues of Human-Non-Human Primate Neural Grafting")

How far can we go in genetically modifying animals? The EU Commission's Group of Advisers on the Ethical Implications of Biotechnology has issued a statement on Ethical Aspects of Genetic Modification of Animals. Research in the area of veterinary medicine has its own rules, and The European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products provides a large number of guidelines for this area. The Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations (FELASA) provides various policies and recommendations.

Last updated: 2010-01-02