The ethics of research involving animals - Nuffield Council on ...
The ethics of research involving animals - Nuffield Council on ...
The ethics of research involving animals - Nuffield Council on ...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
T h e e t h i c s o f r e s e a r c h i n v o l v i n g a n i m a l s<br />
i) specific cases in which it is claimed that animal models have failed to predict effects in<br />
humans and/or in which <str<strong>on</strong>g>research</str<strong>on</strong>g> using <str<strong>on</strong>g>animals</str<strong>on</strong>g> has not led to clinical benefits; 6<br />
ii) more-general examples <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> areas <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>research</str<strong>on</strong>g> in which it is argued that preventative<br />
medicine and public health measures have made a greater c<strong>on</strong>tributi<strong>on</strong> to improvements<br />
in human health than vaccines, treatments or other interventi<strong>on</strong>s whose development<br />
involved the use <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>animals</str<strong>on</strong>g>; 7<br />
iii) cases in which it is claimed that animal experiments have not benefited human health<br />
because the objectives were not original, not relevant, not current or not worthwhile, or<br />
because the experimental design was poor. 8<br />
10.30 Most <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> those who argue that <str<strong>on</strong>g>animals</str<strong>on</strong>g> can provide scientifically valid ‘models’ for humans<br />
do not c<strong>on</strong>tend that every use <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>animals</str<strong>on</strong>g> yields immediately useful results, nor that the use<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>animals</str<strong>on</strong>g> is always the most suitable approach. But they firmly refute the claim that cases<br />
in which animal experiments can be regarded as flawed are sufficiently widespread and<br />
indicative <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> a comm<strong>on</strong>, underlying difficulty such that the c<strong>on</strong>cept <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> animal <str<strong>on</strong>g>research</str<strong>on</strong>g> as a<br />
whole is flawed. <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> examples given in Chapters 4–9 support this view.<br />
10.31 We have examined arguments about the implicati<strong>on</strong>s <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the evoluti<strong>on</strong>ary relatedness <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
humans with other <str<strong>on</strong>g>animals</str<strong>on</strong>g> (see Chapter 4). We c<strong>on</strong>cluded that c<strong>on</strong>tinuities in the form <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
behavioural, anatomical, physiological, neurological, biochemical and pharmacological<br />
similarities provide sufficient grounds for the hypothesis that <str<strong>on</strong>g>animals</str<strong>on</strong>g> can be useful models<br />
to study specific aspects <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> biological processes in humans, and to examine the effects <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
therapeutic and other interventi<strong>on</strong>s (paragraphs 4.8-4.10). We described a wide spectrum <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
different kinds <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> biomedical <str<strong>on</strong>g>research</str<strong>on</strong>g> activity, between them employing a variety <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
different kinds <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> animal model to address a range <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> different objectives. <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g>y included<br />
basic physiological studies (Chapter 5), more applied work <strong>on</strong> human diseases and genetic<br />
disorders (Chapters 6 and 7), pharmaceutical discovery and development (Chapter 8), and<br />
toxicity testing (Chapter 9). <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> examples showed that <str<strong>on</strong>g>research</str<strong>on</strong>g> and testing <str<strong>on</strong>g>involving</str<strong>on</strong>g> both<br />
genetically normal and GM <str<strong>on</strong>g>animals</str<strong>on</strong>g> has proved relevant to humans and, in combinati<strong>on</strong><br />
with other methods such as in vitro and clinical studies, has c<strong>on</strong>tributed significantly to<br />
biomedical understanding. <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> cases presented show that there are numerous instances in<br />
which extrapolati<strong>on</strong>s from animal studies can be made in a meaningful way, provided that<br />
the <str<strong>on</strong>g>animals</str<strong>on</strong>g> involved are sufficiently similar to humans in relevant aspects <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the biological<br />
phenomen<strong>on</strong> or disease being studied.<br />
10.32 <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> examples in Chapters 5–9 also illustrated some <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the difficulties involved in extrapolating<br />
from <str<strong>on</strong>g>animals</str<strong>on</strong>g> to humans. Although there has been extensive use <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>animals</str<strong>on</strong>g> in HIV/AIDS<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>research</str<strong>on</strong>g>, modelling <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> this complex disease is difficult, and all <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the currently available animal<br />
models have limitati<strong>on</strong>s. In some cases, promising vaccines have been used successfully in<br />
6 A variety <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> such examples are presented in: Greek and Greek (2002) Specious Science: How genetics and evoluti<strong>on</strong> reveal<br />
why medical <str<strong>on</strong>g>research</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>animals</str<strong>on</strong>g> harms humans (New York: C<strong>on</strong>tinuum Publishing); and LaFollette and Shanks (1996) Brute<br />
Science: Dilemmas <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> animal experimentati<strong>on</strong> (L<strong>on</strong>d<strong>on</strong>: Routledge).<br />
7 For example, it has been observed that major reducti<strong>on</strong>s in incidence <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> many comm<strong>on</strong> infectious diseases coinicided with<br />
the introducti<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> clean water and good sanitati<strong>on</strong> in the last century in Europe, before effective vaccinati<strong>on</strong> was available.<br />
Another example argument is the possibility <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> preventing cancers through envir<strong>on</strong>mental and/or life-style changes, which<br />
could remove the need for curative approaches. Animal Procedures Committee (2003) Review <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the cost-benefit assessment<br />
in the use <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>animals</str<strong>on</strong>g> in <str<strong>on</strong>g>research</str<strong>on</strong>g> (L<strong>on</strong>d<strong>on</strong>: HO), p24.<br />
8 Animal Procedures Committee (2003) Review <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the cost-benefit assessment in the use <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>animals</str<strong>on</strong>g> in <str<strong>on</strong>g>research</str<strong>on</strong>g> (L<strong>on</strong>d<strong>on</strong>: Home<br />
Office), p25; For example, the NAVS have cited an experiment performed <strong>on</strong> ferrets to test the effects <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> a bacterial toxin.<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> bacteria used in this study are a well known cause <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> food pois<strong>on</strong>ing in humans. <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> NAVS claim that the data was<br />
already available from human studies, and previous animal studies NAVS (2001) Resp<strong>on</strong>se from the Nati<strong>on</strong>al Anti-Vivisecti<strong>on</strong><br />
Society to the Animals Procedures Committee c<strong>on</strong>sultati<strong>on</strong> paper <strong>on</strong> the cost-benefit assessment, p29 available at:<br />
http://www.navs.org.uk/download_files/news/Benefit_Assess.pdf Accessed <strong>on</strong>: 5 May 2005;<br />
178