Animal Testing

1
Animal Testing

• Adam Hazenfeld
• Drew Loper
• Ryan Burket
• Todd Handley

2
Introduction

• Todd will be discussing current practices in
  animal testing, what companies do
• Adam will be discussing deontological
  perspectives in animal testing.
• Drew will also be discussing deontological
  perspectives on animal testing.
• Ryan will be discussing the practices that
  companies should be performing.

3
What companies do

• Revlon Cosmetics was one of the first large
  companies to fund research for alternatives with
  a 750,000 contribution to the Rockefeller
  University in 1979.( are they doing this because
  they are animal testing and dont want to look
  like they are totally insensitive to this issue?)
• Proctor and Gamble are estimated to use up to
  50,000 animals per year for testing. In 1991 the
  started testing on several guinea pigs to see
  irritancy for sunscreens, for which there was
  already data available.
• British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection
  (BUAV) recently uncovered details of an
  experiment carried out for Colgate-Palmolive by
  Columbia University in which guinea pigs were
  locked into small plastic tubes and a strong
  solution of surfactant was applied for four hours
  a day for three days, causing cracked and
  bleeding skin on the animals.

4
Statistics from 2001 to 2002

• The total number of procedures on animals in 2002
  rose to 2.7 million, an increase of 4 from the
  previous year. (2001 had seen the lowest number
  of procedures reported since the current
  legislation in 1986).
• 60 of all procedures on living animals are
  performed without any form of anaesthesia.
• Procedures on genetically manipulated
  (transgenic) animals now represent a quarter of
  all procedures, and have increased by 12 from
  last year. Procedures on transgenic animals have
  consistently risen every year since 1990 when
  they represented a mere 1.5 of the total.
• The number of procedures on mice, rats. sheep,
  pigs, birds and fish increased in 2002.
  Procedures on dogs and primates were similar to
  the previous year. Procedures guinea pigs,
  hamsters, rabbits, cats, amphibians, and
  horses/donkeys/crossbreeds decreased.

5
Stats from 2001 to 2002 (cont)

• There were no procedures on octopus, greyhounds,
  camelids, baboons or great apes. No great apes
  (that is chimpanzees, gorillas, and orang-utans)
  have been used in Great Britain since before the
  introduction of the current legislation in 1986.
• Categories of research Procedures on animals for
  fundamental biological research increased by 11,
  and now represent 31 of the total. Use of
  animals for the research, development and testing
  of drugs has been decreasing for several years
  and now account for 24 of the total.
• Toxicity tests accounted for 18 of all
  procedures. Toxicity testing of foodstuffs,
  household products, and agricultural chemicals
  increased, while tests of industrial substances
  decreased. Testing of cosmetic products or
  ingredients is no longer permitted in the UK.
• There was a disturbing increase in tests to
  detect cancer-causing substances and short-term
  lethal toxicity tests. Eye irritancy tests and
  pyrogenicity tests continued to decrease in 2002
  alternatives

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Stats from 2001 to 2002 (cont)

• Procedures on animals for the production of
  monoclonal antibodies fell by 28. All these
  procedures were for the initial immunization of
  animals, and none were for raising monoclonal
  antibodies in the abdomens of living animals
  (ascites method), thanks to the development of
  cell culture alternatives.
• There were 31 infringements recorded during 2002.
  Of these, 26 were categorised as Class Two or
  Three infringements, and as such are defined as
  potentially criminal offences. However, no
  licences were revoked and there were no
  prosecutions.

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3 Principles of Deontology

• Responsibilities you are obligated to do
• -Stronger the relationship more responsibility
  to that relationship
• Determine if you are using someone solely as a
  means to an end
• Some Actions are Unethical
• -Uses Kants Categorical Imperative I ought
  not act

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Responsibilities you are obligated to do?

• Humans Humans
• -Greater relationship to each other
• Duty to find cures for diseases and ailments that
  affect humans
• Rational Beings- Animals are not capable of
  formulating and acting out of respect of the
  moral law

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Responsibilities you are obligated to do? (cont)

• We have duty not to abuse animals for the point
  of personal pleasure
• We have a duty to minimize the amount of
  unnecessary suffering in animals
• Have a duty to find alternative methods of animal
  testing

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Using someone solely as a means to an end

• Animals are not rational beings
• Ethical to use animals in testing
• Caution against wastefulness and excessive
  cruelty
• Kant-animals have value in serving human purposes

11
Deciding if actions are ethical

• Outcomes do not decide if actions are ethical
• Actions are done out of duty
• Some actions are clearly wrong and some are right
• Kants Categorical Imperative

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Rosss Prima Facie Duties

• Some duties more important than others
• Duty which has to be performed unless its
  outweighed by another duty
• Finding a cure for Cancer, AIDS, etc

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Minimizing Pain

• The Minimum Pain Principle
• Pain Studies without Consciousness

14
Training of Scientists

• Attitudes of Scientists
• Consider animals as subjects
• Maximal Theoretical Expertise and Technical Skill

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Trends of Animals Used in Experiments in the US
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Great BritainAnimal Experimentation

• 1980 total was 4.6 million animals
• 1990 total was 3.2 million animals
• Reduction of over 30 percent

17
CanadaAnimal Experimentation

• 1977 total was 2.1 million
• 1989 total was 1.3 million
• 38 percent decrease
• Primate use has decreased by 55 percent

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NetherlandsAnimal Experimentation

• 1988 total was 1.1 million
• 1990 total was 951,000
• A reduction of 10.5 percent

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The Three Rs

• Replacement alternatives
• Refinement alternatives
• Reduction alternatives

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Reduction Alternative

• Methods for obtaining comparable levels of
  information
• Experimental design and inappropriate statistical
  analysis problems
• Goes back to initial training of scientists

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Examples for Reduction

• Computer modeling
• Advanced analytical techniques
• In vitro techniques
• Other alternative testing methods

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Conclusion

• Although animal testing is necessary and ethical,
  as humans we have the duty to minimize the harm
  involved and reduce the number of animals used in
  experimentation.

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Questions?