Animal research has played a vital
role in virtually every major medical advance of the last century - for
both human and veterinary health. From antibiotics to blood
transfusions, from dialysis to organ transplantation, from vaccinations
to chemotherapy, bypass surgery and joint replacement, practically
every present-day protocol for the prevention, treatment, cure and
control of disease, pain and suffering is based on knowledge attained
through research with lab animals.
The anti-research element of animal rights movement frequently claims
that the results of animal studies can't be applied to human health.
However, physicians and researchers overwhelmingly agree that animal
systems provide invaluable and irreplaceable insights into human
systems because there are striking similarities between the
physiological and genetic systems of animals and humans. The essential
need for animal research is recognized and supported by medical
societies and health agencies around the world. Concrete proof of its
validity can also be found in the vast body of Nobel Prize winning work
in physiology and medicine that has been based on animal studies.
Since 1900, modern medicine has boosted the average life span in the
United States by almost 30 years. In 1999, infant mortality in the USA
- a key indicator of the nation's health - was measured at seven deaths
per 1,000 live births compared to 55 deaths per 1,000 live births in
1935.
Many diseases that once killed millions of people every year are now
either preventable, treatable or have been eradicated altogether.
Immunizations against polio, diphtheria, mumps, rubella and hepatitis
save countless lives and the survival rates for many major diseases are
at an all time high thanks to the discovery of new drugs and the design
of sophisticated medical devices and surgical procedures.
Animal research has also resulted in many remarkable life-saving and
life-extending treatments for cats, dogs, farm animals, wildlife and
endangered species. Pacemakers, artificial joints, organ transplants
and freedom from arthritic pain are just a few of the breakthroughs
made in veterinary medicine thanks to animal research. Vaccinations for
rabies, distemper, parvo virus, infectious hepatitis, anthrax, tetanus
and feline leukemia ensure that dogs, cats, sheep, cattle, deer and
foxes live longer, happier, healthier lives. New treatments for
glaucoma, heart disease, cancer, hip dysplasia and traumatic injuries
extend and enhance the lives of beloved companion animals.
For humane, compassionate and scientific reasons, researchers are
deeply concerned about the condition of the animals they study. This is
not a controversial position; there is no constituency for inhumane
treatment. Poor care results in unreliable research data. For results
to be valid, animal subjects must be healthy. Also, pain and distress
are thought to have negative impact on the immune system, so
researchers are careful to protect their animals from undue stress. It
is well recognized that laboratory animals have been indispensable in
the cause of medical and scientific discovery. We have a moral duty to
provide them the best care and treatment possible.
The USDA has set forth federal regulations governing the care and use
of laboratory animals in biomedical research that are more extensive
that those covering human subjects. The AWA (Animal Welfare Act) sets
high standards of care for lab animals with regard to their housing,
feeding, cleanliness, ventilation and medical needs. It also requires
the use of anesthesia or analgesic drugs for potentially painful
procedures and during post-operative care. Most importantly, research
institutions are required - by law - to establish an Institutional
Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) to oversee all work with animals.
The IACUCs require researchers to justify their need for animals;
select the most appropriate species and use the fewest number of
animals possible to answer a specific question. All IACUCs include at
least one veterinarian and one community representative, unaffiliated
with the institution. These committees have the authority to reject any
research proposal and stop any project it believes has failed to meet
proper standards. The U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) Act requires
that all institutions receiving research funds from the National
Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration or the Centers
for Disease Control, adhere to the standards set out in the Guide for
the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Under the PHS policy,
institutions must follow detailed animal care recommendations and
establish an IACUC to ensure that all animals are treated responsibly
and humanely.
Those who work in the medical field and see the effects of disease feel
no ambivalence about the value of animal research. Although research
opponents portray the medical community as deeply divided over the
merits of animal research, a survey by the American Medical Association
found that 99 percent of active physicians in the U.S. believed that
animal research had contributed to medical progress, and 97 percent
supported the continued humane and responsible use of animals for basic
and clinical research. More recently, a survey of living Nobel
Laureates for medicine found unanimous support for animal research.