THE THREAT OF ANIMAL ACTIVISM

Animal Welfare vs. Animal Rights Q & A

What is the difference between animal welfare and animal rights?
Animal welfare is a human responsibility that encompasses all aspects of animal well-being. It is the fundamental recognition that all people - including medical research scientists - have a moral obligation to treat animals humanely and responsibly.

Animal rights, on the other hand, is the philosophical notion that humans and animals have the same legal rights - in the animal rights movement, there is no difference between a rat and sick child - which is their basis for opposing the involvement of any animals, for any purpose, in any medical research.

How beneficial is animal research?
Research is the foundation for all medical science and animals - practically all of which are mice and rats - are the foundation of this research. Biomedical research involving lab animals has played a vital role in virtually every major medical advance of the last century. Practically every present day protocol for the prevention, control, and cure of disease and pain is based on knowledge attained - directly or indirectly - through research with lab animals.

What changes has the scientific community made because of the animal rights movement?
It's really important to understand that the animal rights movement isn't about getting bigger cages, or cleaner cages or more toys in cages. It is about abolishing cages altogether. The most significant change that has been forced onto research labs - because of the animal rights movement - is the diversion of scarce research dollars into security to prevent break-ins and theft and other destruction.

What the benefits of using animal research in science?
Research is the foundation for all medical science and animals - practically all of which are mice and rats - are the foundation of this research. Biomedical research involving lab animals has played a vital role in virtually every major medical advance of the last century. Practically every present day protocol for the prevention, control, and cure of disease and pain is based on knowledge attained - directly or indirectly - through research with lab animals.

Animal research provides invaluable and irreplaceable insights into human systems because there are striking similarities between the physiological and genetic systems of animals humans. There is also a legal requirement to test drugs, medical devices and other promising treatments on animals before humans. These legal requirements are outlined in the Nuremburg Code and the Helsinki Declaration.

What diseases have been cured through animal research?
Practically every present day protocol for the prevention, control, and cure of disease and pain is based on knowledge attained - directly or indirectly - through research with lab animals. Animal research has led to the discovery of insulin, antibiotics, analgesics, anti-depressants and anesthetics; the development of kidney, liver and heart transplants, bypass surgery, heart catheterization and joint replacement. Smallpox was eradicated through world wide vaccination; polio is being eradicated.

What specific breakthroughs have been made through animal research?
Practically every present day protocol for the prevention, control, and cure of disease and pain is based on knowledge attained - directly or indirectly - through research with lab animals. Animal research has led to the discovery of insulin, antibiotics, analgesics, anti-depressants and anesthetics; the development of kidney, liver and heart transplants, bypass surgery, heart catheterization and joint replacement. Smallpox was eradicated through world wide vaccination; polio is being eradicated.

Are all consumer products tested on animals first?
Manufacturers of food, drugs, cosmetics and other household goods have a legal and a moral obligation to protect consumers from dangerous products. They meet this obligation through animal testing for which there is no completely valid alternative.

Household product testing not only determines a product's safety; it also evaluates the consequences of its misuse. These important data are invaluable to the poison control centers that dispense advice in emergency situations such as when a small child for family pet swallows a pharmaceutical or cleaning product.

What we would lose if we lost animal research?
A great deal of medical research would simply stop. To put it in human terms, there would be no hope that 400,000 spinal cord injured Americans and over two million paralyzed Americans will ever walk again.

What types of animals are needed for animal research?
Practically all research animals - over 97 per cent - are rodents, rats and mice bred for this purpose. Dogs, cats and non human primates account for less than one half of one cent of all lab animals.

Some people say that animal research is invalid because there are many differences between humans and animals. What is your response?
There are striking similarities between the physiological systems of humans and various species of animals. For example, much of what we know about the immune system has come from studies with mice. Much of our understanding of the human cardiovascular system came from studies with sheep and dogs. It is also important to note that we learn as much from the differences between humans and animals as we do the similarities. A good example is toxicology.

If you could get two major points across about animal research, what would they be?
The basis for almost all we know about the mechanism of human disease comes from animal studies.

Research animals are really unsung heroes for the role they play in unlocking the mysteries of disease.