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Animals Used in Science

Research about animals used for “scientific” purposes including medical and cosmetic testing, dissection, and alternatives.

In the Spotlight

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How To Assess Stress in Reptiles
This paper considers different methods to measure stress in reptiles, as well as the environmental factors that might lead to stress responses in the first place. There are many factors that could contribute to the stress of different species of reptiles, but this paper highlights capture and living in captivity as stressful situations that cause corticosteroid release in many reptile species. The author uses previously published literature to demonstrate how different levels of stress may result in different physiological responses in reptiles, and describes non-invasive, non-captive ways of measuring stress in reptile populations. READ MORE

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Should Protections for Research With Humans Who Cannot Consent Apply to Research With Nonhuman Primates?
This paper considers how and why current protections for research with humans who cannot consent (such as children and those with severe dementia) can apply to nonhuman primates. Navigating the slippery and often contentious questions around moral significance of nonhuman animals, the author gives compelling examples of research projects where using nonhuman primates would be clearly unacceptable. These are then used as a baseline for determining a general principle that "individuals who are unable to consent should be enrolled in nonbeneficial research only when, at the very least, there is sufficient reason to believe that the potential benefits of the research justify the risks it poses." Though the author does not make claims around what might constitute justifiable benefits, he does offer interesting possibilities for how nonhuman primates can assent / dissent from particular research, even if they cannot officially "consent." READ MORE

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Charter Protection for the Great Apes: A Litigation Strategy for Animal Welfare and Animal Rights Activism in Canada
In a paper published on the Social Science Research Network, David Frank Shultz analyzes the possibility of extending legal protection to non-human great apes (orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos) so that they fall within the category of ‘people' under Canadian law. Considering the issue from several different perspectives – animal rights activism, a scientific and philosophical viewpoint, and a legal perspective – Schultz believes that there is sufficient legal room for a plausible claim for great apes to be included within this group. As the law on this point is currently indeterminate, the paper gives animal rights advocates valuable material for litigation of this issue to potentially enact significant social change. READ MORE

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Lessons Learned: Challenges in Applying Current Constraints on Research on Chimpanzees to Other Animals
In 2011, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on the Necessity of the Use of Chimpanzees in Biomedical and Behavioral Research, was charged with determining the scientific necessity of the chimpanzee as a human model for biomedical and behavioral research. In his article, committee chair Jeffrey Kahn states that despite this charge, the issue of necessity simply could not be completely separated from ethics. Ethical considerations informed all of the central recommendations of the committee, from their insistence that chimps be housed in “ethologically appropriate environments” to their acknowledgement that chimps have the cognitive capacity to express their willingness (and unwillingness) to submit to research procedures. READ MORE

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Regulatory Animal Testing: A Survey of the Factors Influencing the Use of Animal Testing to Meet Regulatory Requirements
This extensive 2005 Dutch pilot study conducted in-depth interviews with animal testing stakeholders to report on ways that animal testing can be reduced in Europe. Multiple factors contributing to the continuation of animal testing were explored, including regulatory and legislative, technical, political and administrative, and social factors. The study identified opportunities for change, primarily associated with improved communication and coordination. READ MORE
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