Animal Ethics

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Animal EthicsThe ethics of research involving
animals

• Prof. Dr. Frauke Ohl
• Division Laboratory Animal Science, Dept.
  Animals, Science Society, DGK, UU

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History

• Greece
• /-400 a.C.
• 1st medical handbook
• Corpus Hippocraticum

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History
basic knowledge on anatomy and physiology
note experimental conditions!
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History

• Descartes, 17th century
• dualism mind/body -
• animals do not have a soul
• thus
• no consciousness and no pain in animals
• (insensate mashine)

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History Animal Protection
Politics 1875 Victoria Street Society first
anti-vivisection organisation 1876 Cruelty to
Animals Act, UK first law on protection
of experimental animals 1985 Amendment to
Improved standard for the Laboratory Animal Act
Science 2000 view on the use of animals in
research by the European Science Foundation (ESF)
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Russell and BurchThe Principles of Humane
Experimental Techniques, 1959
Use of Laboratory Animals - Today
The guiding principle of LAS

• Replacement (alternatives?)
• Reduction (numbers?)
• Refinement (procedures?)

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Laboratory Animal Science - Today
needs of animals
societal demands
humane use welfare minimizing numbers
advising policy makers discussion with
society teaching
Laboratory Animal Science
needs of scientists
reliability feasibility (economic) efficiency
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Laboratory Animal Science - Today

• with upcoming discussion on the (justification of
  the) use of laboratory animals, specialists were
  needed for
• advising policy organs (regulation)
• supervision of welfare
• teaching
• research
• as a consequence of the Dutch Act on the Use of
  Laboratory Animals (1977), the Chair of
  Laboratory Animal Science was founded at the
  University of Utrecht

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Laboratory Animal Science - Today
Legislation in the NL

• Wet op de dierproeven (1977)
• Dierproevenbesluit (1985)
• Gewijzigde Wet op de dierproeven (1996)

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Laboratory Animal Science - Today
Regulation

• Animal experiments are restricted to (specific)
  scientific research and teaching and
• only if no alternative is available
• only if the expected outcome outweighs the
  possible discomfort of experimental animals
• each study has to be approved by a DEC
• each study and animal has to be registered
• people involved have to trained
• animal welfare has to be closely monitored and
  supervised

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Use of Laboratory Animals - Today
- development of lab animal use in the UK
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Use of Laboratory Animals - Today
- development of lab animal use in the NL
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Use of Laboratory Animals - Today
- number of different species (2005), use of
inbred strains
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Use of Laboratory Animals - 3Rs
LAS specialist levels (Netherlands)
Animal care taker/biotechnical assistant (art 12
FELASA A,B) 2/3 year training (mbo-niveau)
Researcher (art. 9 FELASA C) Biomedical
master cursus LAS (80 hours) LAS specialist
(art 14 FELASA D) Veterinary
Medicine/Biomedical Research specialist
training (1 year)
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Use of Laboratory Animals - 3Rs
Supervision of health (welfare)
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Use of Laboratory Animals - 3Rs
Recognition of specific demands
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Use of Laboratory Animals - 3Rs
Induction of severe pain basically is forbidden
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Use of Laboratory Animals - 3Rs
Avoiding (unnecessary) discomfort!
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Use of Laboratory Animals - 3Rs
Assessment of discomfort?
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Use of Laboratory Animals - 3Rs
Other refinements species specific
characteristics have
impact on experimental results
rat
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Use of Laboratory Animals - 3Rs
Other refinements housing conditions have impact
on welfare and experimental results
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Use of Laboratory Animals - 3Rs
social housing
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Use of Laboratory Animals - 3Rs
procedures
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Use of Laboratory Animals - 3Rs
Reduced numbers and
refined welfare
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Use of Laboratory Animals - ???
- use of animals for different purposes in the NL
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Use of Laboratory Animals - ???
- cancer animal models and patients in the NL
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Debate

• Debate on the validity of animal experiments
• acceptance of experimental medicine as
  contributing to
• mans welfare
• evidence that development of medicine depends on
  animal
• experiments

• knowledge about functioning of human
• prevention of becoming ill
• treatment
• William Harvey principles of blood circulation
• Gerard Domagk antibiotics not effective in
  petri-dish, had to be
• transformed to sulfonamide in living organism
• Louis Pasteur infection routes, development of
  vaccins

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Debate

• Debate on justification of animal experiments
• 1789 Jeremy Bentham Introduction to the
  principles of
• Morals and Legislation
• The question is not, can they reason? nor, can
  they talk?
• but, can they suffer?
• results from animal experiments are misleading
  (Vioxx)
• animal experiments lead to false negative
  results

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Debate
Nature (December 13th) acknowledges certain
mouse models of cancer, for example, do not
accurately mimic the disease in humans, and may
even have hampered the development of some drugs
(see Nature 442, 739741 2006). Many eminent
cancer scientists have gone much further, eg.
according to Dr Irwin Bross, former Director of
the world's largest cancer research institute
While conflicting animal results have often
delayed and hampered advances in the war on
cancer, they have never produced a single
substantial advance in either the prevention or
treatment of human cancer. Furthermore, Cancer
Research UK asserts We do trials in people
because animal models do not predict what will
happen in humans.
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Debate
Statement of the Royal Society s position on the
Use of Animals in Research.The Royal Society, 28
January 2002 We have all benefited immensely
from scientific research involving animals.From
antibiotics and insulin to blood transfusions and
treatments for cancer or HIV, virtually every
medical achievement in the past century has
depended directly or indirectly on research on
animals.The same is true for veterinary
medicine. Review of cost-benefit assessment in
the use of animals in research, Animal Procedures
Committee, June 2003 An absolute position that
all animal experiments are scientifically invalid
is untenable. examples of scientifically dubious
or invalid animal experiments do not add up to
a general proof that animal experimentation as a
whole is flawed science.
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Debate
For example, the claim was made many times that
all medical breakthroughs have come from animal
research, without which medical progress would be
impossible. This is a ludicrous claim, which is
patently false. The Advertising Standards
Authority recently ruled that the milder
claim "Some of the major advances in the last
century would have been impossible without animal
research" is misleading and should not be
repeated (Kathy Archibald, Director, Europeans
for Medical Progress, UK) The Authority
considered that the information sent by the
advertisers showed that animal research had
played a part in the development of the listed
advances. It considered, however, that the claim
implied those advances could not have been
achieved through non-animal research it
considered that, because the advertisers could
not show what would have happened if research had
been carried out differently, they could not
prove that claim. It concluded that the claim was
misleading it told the advertisers not to repeat
it and to amend the claim to "Some of the major
advances in the last century relied on animal
research ...", or similar, in future
advertisements. (Advertising Standards
Authority, Mid City Place, 71 High Holborn,
London, WC1V 6QT, United Kingdom)
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stellingen

• Biomedisch onderzoek met dieren is overbodig
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• Wie geneesmiddelen gebruikt, kan niet tegen
  dierproeven zijn.
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• Mens en dier zijn biologisch zo verschillend dat
  je resultaten van het onderzoek aan dieren niet
  kunt vertalen naar de mens
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• Alleen vegetariërs kunnen consistent tegen
  dierproeven ageren
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• Dieren zijn aan mensen ondergeschikt,daarom mag
  je ze voor onderzoek gebruiken
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• Biologisch gezien is de mens een dier temidden
  van andere dieren en dus niet superieur. Dit
  heeft gevolgen voor de argumentatie over
  dierproeven.
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• Gewone mensen zijn niet in staat om de opzet en
  het belang van dierproeven goed te beoordelen,
  daarom moeten ze dit aan de betrokken
  wetenschappers overlaten. Die weten immers het
  beste wat zinvol onderzoek is. Wetgeving met
  commissies (achter gesloten deuren) zoals
  bijvoorbeeld in Nederland is daarom meer dan
  voldoende belemmering voor de wetenschap.
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• Voor proefdieren wordt beter en deskundiger
  gezorgd dan voor gezelschapsdieren