Using animals for research

Preview

1. Wednesday your revised plan is due (if requested)
2. We'll start our last module: Wild Animals
3. Clare Palmer article is bout assisting wild animals when they're in danger
• when are we obligated to assist?
• when are we obligated not to assist?

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The Animal Welfare Act: overview and lab animal highlights 

1. Which species? Covers warm-blooded animals, except rats, mice, and birds; not cold-blooded animals (fish, reptiles); lots of monkeys used, but chimpanzees excluded.
2. Life in the lab Regulates housing, food; exercise for dogs, enrichment for primates
3. Impact of procedures Requires anesthesia, analgesia; allows suffering that's integral to the experiment; only two surgical procedures per animal
4. Oversight At local institution, IACUCs; federal inspections
5. What's missing?  IACUC doesn't assess harm/benefit balance

All permitted

1. 

   Draize Test

   Cosmetic testing
2. Household product testing
3. Testing of redundant drugs
4. Animal studies with unclear relevance to humans (psych studies)
5. Repetitive studies 

Singer--AWA should be strengthened, especially when it comes to IACUCs considering balance (ALN p. 100)--many countries already do this; EU, no cosmetic testing

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When is research on animals justified?

Most permissive authors--almost always

Most restrictive authors-- almost never

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Singer's answer: rarely

1. Shouldn't say "never"--e.g. experiment on a mouse may lead to cure for cancer
2. Before saying yes, perform the "human equivalent test." 
   
3. Also beware of the tendency to experiment on "outgroups"
• Nazi experiments on Jews
• Willowbrook experiments on intellectually disabled kids
• Tuskegee experiments on blacks
4.  But sometimes an experiment will be justified under the "non-speciesist ethical guideline"
   
   
5. Example: Experiment involving 100 monkeys that led to discovery of "deep brain stimulation" (Tipu Aziz at Oxford); has relieved Parkinson symptoms in 40,000 patients; in 2018, more monkeys, 100,000 patients
• https://youtu.be/CgkUjVJFQRI (:45 - 2:45, 7:45-9)
• reaction of rights authors like Francione
6. Singer is a Utitlitarian--our ultimate duty is to maximize total happiness (the balance of happiness over misery)

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The utility question

Some ethicist say no experimentation on animals should be done because it has no utility--i.e. you never learn anything about humans

Larry Carbone respond to this, explaining the scientific process