Human vs animal rights: in defense of animal research

The American Medical Association (AMA) has prepared a report concerning animal research; it addresses the question of whether it is more ethical to ban all medical research on animals or to use a limited number of animals under humane conditions when no alternatives exist for advancing medical science. The paper stresses that during the 20th century, animal research has produced significant advances in controlling disease and developing surgical techniques for humans, as well as for animals. The ethics of using animals for research purposes has been the subject of philosophical debate for many centuries. Some elements of the animal rights movement have grown so militant that their more extreme actions are considered terrorist activities by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other law enforcement groups. In many cases, this militant element has gained control over more moderate animal rights activists whose objective is to provide homes and shelter for stray animals. Animal rights groups argue that basic biomedical research has no clinical value, and in some cases is duplicated needlessly. The AMA report argues that many significant clinical developments have been achieved from this basic research, and that duplication is essential to confirm research results. The paper takes issue with the position of animal rights activists that too many animals are being used and that the animals suffer pain and abuse in the course of research. The AMA's report opposes new legislation that would ban animal research or impose restrictions on how research animals are housed and cared for. The first proposal would effectively end most basic biomedical research, and the second would add significantly to its cost.
ABSTRACT: For centuries, opposition has been directed against the use of animals for the benefit of humans. For more than four centuries in Europe, and for more than a century in the United States, this opposition has targeted scientific research that involves animals. More recent movements in support of animal rights have arisen in an attempt to impede, if not prohibit, the use of animals in scientific experimentation. These movements employ various means that range from information and media campaigns to destruction of property and threats against investigators. The latter efforts have resulted in the identification of more militant animal rights bands as terrorist groups. The American Medical Association has long been a defender of humane research that employs animals, and it is very concerned about the efforts of animal rights and welfare groups to interfere with research. Recently, the Association prepared a detailed analysis of the controversy over the use of animals in research, and the consequences for research and clinical medicine if the philosophy of animal rights activists were to prevail in society. This article is a condensation of the Association's analysis.