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Argumentative Essays on Animal Testing

Hook examples for animal testing essays, the ethical dilemma hook.

Begin your essay by presenting the ethical dilemma surrounding animal testing. Explore the moral questions it raises and the conflicting viewpoints of proponents and opponents.

The Historical Perspective Hook

Take your readers on a journey through the history of animal testing. Discuss its origins, evolution, and its role in scientific and medical advancements over time.

The Scientific Advancements Hook

Highlight the scientific breakthroughs and discoveries that have resulted from animal testing. Discuss how it has contributed to medical treatments, vaccines, and the understanding of diseases.

The Alternatives and Innovations Hook

Explore alternative methods and innovations in research that aim to replace or reduce the use of animals in testing. Discuss advancements like in vitro testing and computer modeling.

The Animal Welfare Hook

Focus on the welfare and ethical treatment of animals used in testing. Discuss regulations, guidelines, and efforts to minimize harm and suffering in research.

The Legal and Regulatory Landscape Hook

Examine the legal and regulatory framework surrounding animal testing in different countries. Discuss laws, restrictions, and their enforcement.

The Public Opinion and Activism Hook

Discuss public perceptions of animal testing and the role of animal rights activists in advocating for change. Highlight notable campaigns and their impact.

The Unintended Consequences Hook

Explore unintended consequences or risks associated with animal testing, such as potential harm to humans due to species differences or the limitations of animal models.

The Future of Research Hook

Discuss the future of scientific research and the possibilities for reducing or eliminating animal testing. Explore emerging technologies and trends in biomedical research.

The Personal Story Hook

Share a personal or anecdotal story related to animal testing, such as the experiences of a researcher, activist, or someone affected by medical advancements achieved through animal testing.

Animal Testing: a Necessary Evil?

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The Use of Animals in Scientific Research

Arguments aganist using animals in experiments and testing, reasons to stop animal testing, the reasons why animal testing should be stopped, let us write you an essay from scratch.

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Discussion Whether Animals Testing is Necessary

An argument favoring the use of animals in testing and the benefits it has brought, animal testing in modern world, pros and cons of animal testing: the conflicting debate, get a personalized essay in under 3 hours.

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The Ethics of Animal Testing: an Argument Against Its Practice

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Animal testing, referred to as animal experimentation, animal research, or in vivo testing, involves the utilization of animals other than humans in scientific experiments aimed at manipulating the factors influencing the behavior or biological processes being investigated.

Throughout history, the practice of animal testing has deep roots dating back centuries. The earliest recorded instances can be traced back to ancient civilizations, where animals were used for various scientific and medical purposes. The Greek physician Galen, during the second century AD, conducted experiments on animals to understand human anatomy and physiology. However, the formal establishment of animal testing as a systematic approach began to take shape during the 19th century with the emergence of modern medical research. In the late 1800s, advances in scientific knowledge and technology led to an increased demand for animal testing in various fields, including medicine, toxicology, and physiology. The development of anesthesia further facilitated the experimentation on animals by reducing pain and discomfort. Throughout the 20th century, animal testing became more widespread and institutionalized, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry.

Public opinion on animal testing is a complex and diverse topic, with viewpoints spanning a wide spectrum. While there are those who support the use of animals in scientific research for the advancement of human knowledge and medical breakthroughs, others express strong opposition due to ethical concerns and the perceived mistreatment of animals. Some people argue that animal testing is necessary for the development of life-saving treatments and the improvement of human health. They believe that animals provide valuable insights into human biology and the effectiveness of potential therapies. On the other hand, opponents of animal testing argue that it is cruel and unnecessary, advocating for alternative methods such as in vitro testing, computer modeling, and human cell-based assays. Public opinion on animal testing often hinges on the balance between scientific progress and animal welfare. The growing awareness of animal rights and ethical considerations has fueled debates and discussions surrounding the topic. As society becomes more conscious of animal welfare, there is an increasing demand for alternative testing methods and greater transparency in the treatment of animals involved in research. Ultimately, public opinion plays a crucial role in shaping policies and regulations surrounding animal testing.

1. Scientific advancement. 2. Human health and safety. 3. Understanding diseases. 4. Regulatory requirements. 5. Animal welfare improvements.

1. Ethical concerns. 2. Inadequate human relevance. 3. Availability of alternatives. 4. Animal welfare. 5. Speciesism and moral status.

One example of media representation is the documentary "Earthlings" directed by Shaun Monson. This influential film explores different aspects of animal exploitation, including animal testing, and highlights the ethical concerns surrounding the practice. It has garnered widespread attention and prompted discussions about the treatment of animals in scientific research. Social media platforms have also become powerful tools for activists and organizations to share information and advocate for alternatives to animal testing. Hashtags like #StopAnimalTesting and #CrueltyFree have gained traction, raising awareness and encouraging conversations on the topic.

The topic of animal testing is important due to its ethical, scientific, and societal implications. From an ethical standpoint, it raises profound questions about the treatment of sentient beings and the moral responsibility we have towards animals. It prompts us to consider the balance between scientific progress and animal welfare, urging us to explore alternative methods that minimize harm. Scientifically, animal testing has been instrumental in advancing medical knowledge and developing treatments for various diseases. However, it is essential to continually evaluate its effectiveness, limitations, and potential alternatives to ensure both human and animal well-being. Furthermore, the issue of animal testing has societal implications as it reflects our values and priorities as a society. It prompts discussions about our relationship with animals, the extent of their rights, and the importance of promoting more humane practices.

The topic of animal testing is worth writing an essay about due to its complex nature and the multitude of perspectives it encompasses. It is a subject that elicits strong emotions and raises critical ethical, scientific, and social questions. Writing an essay on animal testing allows for an in-depth exploration of these issues and encourages critical thinking and analysis. By delving into the topic, one can examine the ethical considerations surrounding the use of animals in experiments, weighing the potential benefits against the moral implications. Additionally, it provides an opportunity to evaluate the scientific validity and reliability of animal testing as a method for understanding human biology and developing medical treatments. Furthermore, an essay on animal testing opens avenues for discussing alternative approaches and advancements in technology that can reduce or replace animal experimentation. It allows for an exploration of the societal impact of animal testing, including public opinion, legislation, and the influence of media.

1. Each year, millions of animals are used in scientific experiments worldwide. According to estimates, over 100 million animals, including rabbits, mice, rats, dogs, and primates, are subjected to testing for various purposes, such as biomedical research, drug development, and toxicity testing. 2. Animal testing is not always reliable in predicting human outcomes. Studies have shown that there can be significant differences between animals and humans in terms of anatomy, physiology, and drug metabolism. This raises concerns about the validity and relevance of using animal models for understanding human diseases and developing treatments. 3. Alternatives to animal testing are emerging and gaining traction. Scientists and researchers are actively exploring innovative methods, such as in vitro cell cultures, computer modeling, and organ-on-a-chip technology, to simulate human biology and predict human responses more accurately. These alternative approaches aim to reduce or eliminate the need for animal testing while still ensuring the safety and efficacy of new products and treatments.

1. Abbott, A. (2005). Animal testing: more than a cosmetic change. Nature, 438(7065), 144-147. (https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA185466349&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=00280836&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7E513ffe31) 2. Doke, S. K., & Dhawale, S. C. (2015). Alternatives to animal testing: A review. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1319016413001096 Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal, 23(3), 223-229. 3. Hajar, R. (2011). Animal testing and medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3123518/ Heart views: the official journal of the Gulf Heart Association, 12(1), 42. 4. Bottini, A. A., & Hartung, T. (2009). Food for thought… on the economics of animal testing. ALTEX-Alternatives to animal experimentation, 26(1), 3-16. (https://www.altex.org/index.php/altex/article/view/633) 5. Valappil, S. P., Misra, S. K., Boccaccini, A. R., & Roy, I. (2006). Biomedical applications of polyhydroxyalkanoates, an overview of animal testing and in vivo responses. Expert Review of Medical Devices, 3(6), 853-868. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1586/17434440.3.6.853) 6. File, S. E., Lippa, A. S., Beer, B., & Lippa, M. T. (2004). Animal tests of anxiety. Current protocols in neuroscience, 26(1), 8-3. (https://currentprotocols.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/0471142301.ns0803s26) 7. Madden, J. C., Enoch, S. J., Paini, A., & Cronin, M. T. (2020). A review of in silico tools as alternatives to animal testing: principles, resources and applications. Alternatives to Laboratory Animals, 48(4), 146-172. (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0261192920965977) 8. Donnellan, L. (2006). Animal testing in cosmetics: recent developments in the European Union and the United States. Animal L., 13, 251. (https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/anim13&div=18&id=&page=)

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119 Animal Testing Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Animal testing has been a controversial topic for many years, with strong arguments on both sides. While some argue that it is necessary for medical and scientific advancements, others believe it is cruel and unnecessary. If you have been assigned an essay on animal testing and are struggling to come up with a topic, we have compiled a list of 119 ideas and examples to inspire you.

• The ethical implications of animal testing: Discuss the moral considerations surrounding the use of animals in scientific experiments.
• Animal testing for cosmetics: Should it be banned worldwide?
• The history of animal testing: How has it evolved over time?
• The benefits of animal testing in medical research: Explore the breakthroughs and medical advancements that have been made possible through animal testing.
• Animal testing alternatives: Discuss alternatives to using animals in scientific experiments.
• The role of animal testing in drug development: How crucial is it for ensuring the safety and effectiveness of new medications?
• The impact of animal testing on animal rights: Does it infringe upon their rights?
• Animal testing and consumer safety: How does it contribute to ensuring the safety of products we use?
• The use of animals in psychological experiments: Is it justified?
• The reliability of animal models in predicting human responses: How accurate are they?
• Animal testing and the development of vaccines: How essential is it in preventing diseases?
• The use of animals in agricultural research: What are the benefits and drawbacks?
• Animal testing and cancer research: How has it contributed to finding cures and treatments?
• Animal testing and neurology: How has it advanced our understanding of the brain?
• The impact of animal testing on endangered species: Does it pose a threat to their conservation?
• Animal testing and toxicity testing: How does it help in identifying harmful substances?
• The impact of animal testing on public health: How does it contribute to disease prevention?
• Animal testing and genetic engineering: How has it contributed to advancements in this field?
• The use of animals in military research: Is it justifiable?
• Animal testing and organ transplantation: How has it contributed to the development of successful procedures?
• The impact of animal testing on veterinary medicine: How has it improved animal healthcare?
• Animal testing and cosmetic allergies: How does it help identify potential allergens?
• The use of animals in behavioral research: What insights have been gained?
• Animal testing and reproductive medicine: How has it contributed to advancements in this field?
• The impact of animal testing on psychological well-being: How does it affect the animals involved?
• Animal testing and alternative testing methods: What are the most promising alternatives?
• Animal testing and stem cell research: How do they intersect?
• The use of animals in infectious disease research: What breakthroughs have been made?
• Animal testing and the development of surgical techniques: How has it improved patient outcomes?
• The impact of animal testing on animal populations: Does it affect their numbers in the wild?
• Animal testing and drug addiction research: How has it contributed to understanding addiction mechanisms?
• The use of animals in environmental research: What insights have been gained about ecosystem health?
• Animal testing and personalized medicine: How has it contributed to tailored treatments?
• The impact of animal testing on laboratory conditions: How does it affect the reliability of results?
• Animal testing and the testing of household products: How does it ensure their safety?
• The use of animals in veterinary drug development: What advancements have been made?
• Animal testing and the development of pain management techniques: How has it improved patient comfort?
• The impact of animal testing on public opinion: How has public perception changed over time?
• Animal testing and the development of medical devices: How has it contributed to advancements?
• The use of animals in dental research: What insights have been gained about oral health?
• Animal testing and the study of infectious diseases: How has it contributed to prevention and control?
• The impact of animal testing on animal behavior: How does it affect their natural instincts?
• Animal testing and the development of veterinary treatments: What breakthroughs have been made?
• The use of animals in neuroscience research: What insights have been gained about brain function?
• Animal testing and the development of anesthesia techniques: How has it improved patient comfort?
• The impact of animal testing on wildlife conservation: Does it have positive or negative effects?
• Animal testing and the study of developmental disorders: How has it contributed to understanding?
• The use of animals in bioengineering research: What advancements have been made?
• Animal testing and the development of reproductive technologies: How has it improved fertility treatments?
• The impact of animal testing on scientific progress: How has it accelerated discoveries?
• Animal testing and the study of aging: How has it contributed to understanding the aging process?
• The use of animals in pharmaceutical research: What breakthroughs have been made?
• Animal testing and the development of prosthetics: How has it improved quality of life?
• The impact of animal testing on laboratory animal welfare: How does it influence their well-being?
• Animal testing and the study of autoimmune diseases: How has it contributed to treatment options?
• The use of animals in nutritional research: What insights have been gained about human health?
• Animal testing and the development of wound healing techniques: How has it improved patient outcomes?
• The impact of animal testing on wildlife rehabilitation: Does it aid in their recovery?
• Animal testing and the study of addiction: How has it contributed to understanding dependency?
• The use of animals in regenerative medicine research: What advancements have been made?
• Animal testing and the development of veterinary vaccines: How has it improved animal health?
• The impact of animal testing on animal cognition: How does it affect their mental abilities?
• Animal testing and the study of genetic disorders: How has it contributed to treatment options?
• The use of animals in agricultural genetics research: What insights have been gained?
• Animal testing and the development of veterinary diagnostics: How has it improved disease detection?
• The impact of animal testing on wildlife management: Does it aid in conservation efforts?
• Animal testing and the study of mental health disorders: How has it contributed to understanding?
• The use of animals in tissue engineering research: What advancements have been made?
• Animal testing and the development of veterinary surgical techniques: How has it improved outcomes?
• The impact of animal testing on laboratory animal breeding: How does it affect their reproductive health?
• Animal testing and the study of neurodegenerative diseases: How has it contributed to treatment options?
• The use of animals in ecological research: What insights have been gained about ecosystems?
• Animal testing and the development of veterinary drugs: How has it improved treatment options?
• The impact of animal testing on wildlife behavior: How does it affect their interactions?
• Animal testing and the study of infectious disease transmission: How has it contributed to prevention?
• The use of animals in immunology research: What advancements have been made?
• Animal testing and the development of veterinary rehabilitation techniques: How has it improved recovery?
• The impact of animal testing on laboratory animal housing: How does it influence their living conditions?
• Animal testing and the study of cardiovascular diseases: How has it contributed to treatment options?
• The use of animals in environmental toxicology research: What insights have been gained?
• Animal testing and the development of veterinary nutrition: How has it improved animal health?
• The impact of animal testing on wildlife conservation genetics: Does it aid in population management?
• Animal testing and the study of developmental biology: How has it contributed to understanding?
• The use of animals in wildlife disease research: What advancements have been made?
• Animal testing and the development of veterinary pain management: How has it improved animal welfare?
• The impact of animal testing on laboratory animal enrichment: How does it affect their mental stimulation?
• Animal testing and the study of respiratory diseases: How has it contributed to treatment options?
• The use of animals in aquatic toxicology research: What insights have been gained?
• Animal testing and the development of veterinary imaging techniques: How has it improved diagnosis?
• The impact of animal testing on wildlife population dynamics: Does it aid in conservation planning?
• Animal testing and the study of reproductive biology: How has it contributed to understanding?
• The use of animals in wildlife ecology research: What advancements have been made?
• Animal testing and the development of veterinary anesthesia techniques: How has it improved safety?
• The impact of animal testing on laboratory animal welfare regulations: How do they protect animals?
• Animal testing and the study of gastrointestinal diseases: How has it contributed to treatment options?
• The use of animals in ecotoxicology research: What insights have been gained?
• Animal testing and the development of veterinary dentistry techniques: How has it improved oral health?
• The impact of animal testing on wildlife disease surveillance: Does it aid in early detection?
• Animal testing and the study of endocrine disorders: How has it contributed to treatment options?
• The use of animals in wildlife conservation research: What advancements have been made?
• Animal testing and the development of veterinary ophthalmology techniques: How has it improved vision?
• The impact of animal testing on laboratory animal welfare training: How does it ensure proper care?
• Animal testing and the study of reproductive toxicology: How has it contributed to understanding?
• The use of animals in wildlife genetics research: What insights have been gained?
• Animal testing and the development of veterinary oncology treatments: How has it improved survival?
• The impact of animal testing on wildlife disease management: Does it aid in control measures?
• Animal testing and the study of musculoskeletal disorders: How has it contributed to treatment options?
• The use of animals in wildlife behavior research: What advancements have been made?
• Animal testing and the development of veterinary allergy treatments: How has it improved quality of life?
• The impact of animal testing on laboratory animal welfare assessment: How does it ensure well-being?
• Animal testing and the study of reproductive endocrinology: How has it contributed to understanding?
• The use of animals in wildlife conservation genetics research: What insights have been gained?
• Animal testing and the development of veterinary cardiology treatments: How has it improved heart health?
• The impact of animal testing on wildlife rehabilitation techniques: Does it aid in recovery?
• Animal testing and the study of metabolic diseases: How has it contributed to treatment options?
• The use of animals in wildlife ecology and conservation research: What advancements have been made?
• Animal testing and the development of veterinary neurology treatments: How has it improved brain health?
• The impact of animal testing on laboratory animal welfare monitoring: How does it ensure proper care?
• Animal testing and the study of reproductive immunology: How has it contributed to understanding?

These topics cover a wide range of aspects related to animal testing, allowing you to choose an area that aligns with your interests or argue for a specific perspective. Remember to conduct thorough research and present a balanced view when discussing this controversial subject.

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Animal Testing Essay Guide + Topics

Whether you are taking a position for or against animal testing in your essay, here are some helpful hacks, tips, and tricks you can use to ace your paper.

Animal testing is a controversial issue of global scope. However, with pandemics and outbreaks being a common phenomenon and the rise of the cosmetics industry, many animals are used in scientific research. Also known as in-vivo, animal experimentation, or animal research, animal testing entails using animals in different levels of experiments to investigate the reactions, performance, and potency of various medications, drugs, cosmetic products, and foods.

Use in both biological, medical, and now beauty studies, animal testing has gained comprehensive coverage. When writing persuasive or argumentative essays, you are likely to be given an animal testing research topic for your essay. The interest of commercial bodies and pharmaceutical companies and the ethics surrounding everything that occurs around us makes writing an animal testing argumentative or persuasive essay interesting.

When we asked 100 students who had ordered custom persuasive or argumentative animal testing essays from our website, they confessed that writing the essay only seems easy at its face value. However, it becomes complicated as they plan, conduct research, and write animal research papers. Do not fear, though because, you can either get an argumentative essay expert to write your essay or a model essay for you. Alternatively, use this guide to write a paper that will check all the boxes that your professor or instructor supposes you cannot.

What to include in your introduction?

When writing an animal testing introduction, avoid wasting too many words. Instead, write an introduction that attracts your readers, piques their interest, and keeps them glued to the end. This means that you should have: (a) hook , (b)background statement (where you explore the problem at hand), and (c) your animal-testing thesis statement.

Most of the top essay writers on our website revealed that they usually search for animal testing essay examples online for inspiration : it helps get a general atmosphere surrounding a controversial topic. With such a background, they can develop a thesis statement that defines their stance and the scope of their animal research essay.

Here are some excellent ideas for your first sentence or the hook:

• Statistics of animals killed annually for research
• Facts on animals are mostly used
• The position of the society
• Catchy facts
• Controversial statements on animal research
• Shocking facts about animal testing, e.g., Surprisingly, as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal reports, almost 100 million animals are killed in just the laboratories in the U.S. for research such as biology lessons, experimentation, food, drug, and cosmetic testing. Imagine how the statistics will skew upwards if we considered the entire world's population of animals killed every hour.
• Rhetorical questions : you use this to make the reader intrigued to read more about the topic. For example, Would you rather use a drug tested on a volunteer human or other animal-safe alternative research approaches, and one that is effective or use a drug tested on animals whose failure rate is slightly high? or Do you believe that morality should be enforced in medical research, especially when animal rights are infringed?

The background of your animal testing research paper introduction can include:

• Definition of animal testing
• The extent of animal testing.'
• The historical context of animal testing
• Breakthroughs of animal testing
• Expert opinion over animal testing
• Description of the problem
• The debate surrounding animal testing

Animal Testing Essay Outline/Structure

Your outline will depend on whether you are writing pro-animal testing or against animal testing research paper. Here is a generalized example of the outline for an animal testing essay.

A well-structured animal testing essay will automatically earn you marks. In most cases, it follows the conventional five-paragraph essay format divided into the introduction, main body, and conclusion.

The introduction and conclusion are each 10% of the word count, while the main body is 80%. You have to format your paper in APA, MLA, or Harvard format as your professor requires. To understand the formatting requirements, read the prompt and rubric of the animal testing essay keenly.

Remember to maintain a single idea per every body paragraph. That idea must reflect in the topic sentence of the paragraph to enable your audience to distinguish your major arguments.

The contents of the body paragraphs must also support the thesis. If there is a counterargument, make it known in your second last paragraph that precedes the conclusion.

Introduction

• 10% of the word count
• Begin with a stellar hook sentence
• Provide background to your chosen topic
• Have an outstanding thesis statement
• Transition to the main body of your essay
• Comprises 80% of the word count
• It can be three paragraphs for short essays or more for a long-form research paper
• Provide the history of animal testing, if necessary.
• Look at the roles of regulation and legislation in preventing animal cruelty.
• Explore the different bodies involved in preventing or lobbying against animal testing.
• Explore the breakthroughs of animal testing
• Explore the different alternatives to animal testing: why they can work or why they cannot
• Each paragraph should have its idea
• Transition to your conclusion
• Provide a summary of the paper
• Highlight your significant arguments and counterarguments
• Offer recommendations, if necessary
• Rephrase your thesis statement and show how evidence has supported it in your essay.

Alternative Methods to Animal Testing to include in your paper

Cruelty-Free International argues that non-animal testing methods are cheaper, reliable, and more effective. You can recommend some of these alternatives in your animal testing research paper or essay, considering they elongate the discussion on this seemingly controversial topic.

• Computer modeling
• Cell cultures
• Human tissues
• Volunteer studies
• Use of egg embryo
• Use of unicellular organisms
• The LAL tests
• In vitro methods

Now, when writing an argumentative essay about animal testing, especially if you take a stance against it, listing these alternatives can strengthen your arguments. Look at this model animal testing essay and craft yours along the same line.

Tips for Concluding your Animal Testing Essay

There is no different way to end an animal testing essay, as it is the same as ending any essay. Thus, when you read our cheat sheet for ending an argumentative essay , you will understand that the main thing is to have a definitive conclusion.

The conclusion is not the place to introduce new ideas. Instead, you will summarize the main points of the essay and restate the thesis in a revamped version. Show your writers the connection between your main arguments and the recommendations you are making. If there is a counterstatement, explain your rationale for it.

When writing the conclusion, make it clear, concise, and coherent. For example, an excellent animal-testing essay conclusion will have the introduction sentence, the summary of the main body, and the closing sentence.

Strive to leave your reader yearning for more : you get to tickle the best grades even from that stingy professor. Weave together the concluding paragraph with appropriate sentence transitions and do not overdo it. Keep everything simple, and you will win the main marks assigned to a reasonable conclusion.

Now that we have everything explained, we can look at some of the main topics you can use as titles for animal testing papers.

Examples of Controversial and Latest Animal Testing Essay Topics

We asked our top writers to suggest some topics they think fit well for an animal testing essay. We got a total of fifty entries that you can select and write something about. If you are stuck and want an essay sample urgently, we can write such an essay for you in a few hours, thanks to our website that helps students write essays ASAP . You can choose from these animal testing essay titles:

• Animal testing should be banned
• Animal testing is not ethical
• Pros and cons of animal testing
• Alternative methods to using animals in drugs development
• Controversy in using animal testing in medical and cosmetic research
• Neglected interests and inhuman practices during animal testing
• The cruelty of animal testing
• Horrors of animal testing
• Accidents during animal testing
• Ethics of transporting caged animals for animal research
• The future of animal testing, given the advancement in biotechnology
• Medical animal testing should be banned
• Should guinea pigs be used for lab work research?
• New, better, and innovative treatments for humanity
• Using animals in medical research is ethical and essential
• Science and the murder of one hundred million animals annually
• Importance of animals in clinical trials
• Importance of animal testing in vaccine development
• Is animal testing necessary for human survival?
• Animal testing as an experimentation industry
• Effectiveness of animal testing
• Exploring the role of Cruelty-Free International Organization
• Role of religious bodies in advocating for animal-testing-free society
• The Americans for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) organization
• Ethical issues in animal experimentation
• How animal cruelty affects the ecosystem
• Animal models in vaccine development
• Defining animal cruelty
• Treatment versus rights of animals
• Are animal model results safe for humans?
• Migraine Treatment and Animal testing
• Dinitrophenol drug for overweight and Animal testing
• Anti-arthritis Treatment and Animal Testing
• Animal use in unmanned war drones
• Positive and negative outcomes of animal testing
• Role of media in influencing animal testing
• The politics of deception in animal testing
• Problems associated with animal testing
• Animal testing should be controlled and not stopped
• Licenses that are required for one to conduct animal testing
• Role of Big Pharma in advancing animal testing.
• Can plants be used as an alternative to animal testing?
• Impacts of animal testing on ecology
• How does animal testing affect the economy?
• Can animal testing result in bioweapons?
• Use of technology to predict diseases and outcomes rather than animal testing.
• Are the rights and feelings of animals considered in animal experimentation?
• Are animals used in tests free?
• Reasons rats, rabbits, and pigs are widely used in animal testing
• Can volunteer human beings replace animals in medical research?
• The best approach to take care of animals used in experimentation
• Breakthroughs after animal testing
• Animal testing and the cosmetics industry
• History of animal testing
• Role of CDC in animal testing research
• Role of WHO on animal testing authorization

Where and how to get help with your Animal Testing Essays?

In our article, we have extensively referenced our custom essay writers who can help you ace your animal testing essays. If you feel that the guide cannot help you break down the essay or are short of time, you can pay someone on our website to write one for you. When you buy an argumentative essay from our website, we assign it to a pro writer who will research, draft, and write the paper from scratch.

Our bespoke essay service ensures that every paper is done as though you would have done it. This means that the writer cites every animal testing journal article, credible website, or relevant scholarly resources as you would have done. They do this when they summarize, paraphrase, or quote from the sources.

Therefore, you are guaranteed 100% original and plagiarism-free animal testing essays. Furthermore, whether you are for or against animal testing, we have a writer who can write your argumentative essay outline, annotated bibliography, research paper, and essay.

They can take an ethical stance or argue based on what society or professionals/experts think about the issue.

Trust us with your paper because we have done this time and again : written untraceable papers for students. Our writers are fast, accurate, respectable, and experienced. They know how to score the top grade on the rubric. All the papers we have done have been used as best argumentative essay samples on should animal testing be banned? yours could be the next one.

Are you a student with weak English and need help? Our ESL writers can craft a paper that sounds like someone who does not grasp English. Alternatively, our ENL writers also know how to tone down an English paper. After all, we serve both ESL and ENL clients. Go to our home page, click on order now, place your order and pay for it, and wait as we complete it for you.

Gradecrest is a professional writing service that provides original model papers. We offer personalized services along with research materials for assistance purposes only. All the materials from our website should be used with proper references. See our Terms of Use Page for proper details.

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Ethical and Scientific Considerations Regarding Animal Testing and Research

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Affiliations Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, D.C., United States of America, Department of Medicine, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C., United States of America

Affiliation Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, D.C., United States of America

• Hope R. Ferdowsian, 

Published: September 7, 2011

• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0024059
• Reader Comments

Citation: Ferdowsian HR, Beck N (2011) Ethical and Scientific Considerations Regarding Animal Testing and Research. PLoS ONE 6(9): e24059. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0024059

Editor: Catriona J. MacCallum, Public Library of Science, United Kingdom

Copyright: © 2011 Ferdowsian, Beck. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funding: The authors are grateful to the National Science Foundation (grant SES-0957163) and the Arcus Foundation (grant 0902-34) for the financial support for the corresponding conference, Animals, Research, and Alternatives: Measuring Progress 50 Years Later. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: HRF and NB are employed by Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which is a non-governmental organization which promotes higher ethical standards in research and alternatives to the use of animals in research, education, and training. Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit organization, and the authors adhered to PLoS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

In 1959, William Russell and Rex Burch published the seminal book, The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique, which emphasized r eduction, r efinement, and r eplacement of animal use, principles which have since been referred to as the “3 Rs”. These principles encouraged researchers to work to reduce the number of animals used in experiments to the minimum considered necessary, refine or limit the pain and distress to which animals are exposed, and replace the use of animals with non-animal alternatives when possible. Despite the attention brought to this issue by Russell and Burch and since, the number of animals used in research and testing has continued to increase, raising serious ethical and scientific issues. Further, while the “3 Rs” capture crucially important concepts, they do not adequately reflect the substantial developments in our new knowledge about the cognitive and emotional capabilities of animals, the individual interests of animals, or an updated understanding of potential harms associated with animal research. This Overview provides a brief summary of the ethical and scientific considerations regarding the use of animals in research and testing, and accompanies a Collection entitled Animals, Research, and Alternatives: Measuring Progress 50 Years Later , which aims to spur ethical and scientific advancement.

Introduction

One of the most influential attempts to examine and affect the use of animals in research can be traced back to1959, with the publication of The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique [1] . William Russell and Rex Burch published this seminal book in response to marked growth in medical and veterinary research and the concomitant increase in the numbers of animals used. Russell and Burch's text emphasized r eduction, r efinement, and r eplacement of animal use, principles which have since been referred to as the “3 Rs”. These principles encouraged researchers to work to reduce the number of animals used in experiments to the minimum considered necessary, refine or limit the pain and distress to which animals are exposed, and replace the use of animals with non-animal alternatives when possible.

Despite the attention brought to this issue by Russell and Burch, the number of animals used in research and testing has continued to increase. Recent estimates suggest that at least 100 million animals are used each year worldwide [2] . However, this is likely an underestimate, and it is impossible to accurately quantify the number of animals used in or for experimentation. Full reporting of all animal use is not required or made public in most countries. Nevertheless, based on available information, it is clear that the number of animals used in research has not significantly declined over the past several decades.

The “3 Rs” serve as the cornerstone for current animal research guidelines, but questions remain about the adequacy of existing guidelines and whether researchers, review boards, and funders have fully and adequately implemented the “3 Rs”. Further, while the “3 Rs” capture crucially important concepts, they do not adequately reflect the substantial developments in our new knowledge about the cognitive and emotional capabilities of animals; an updated understanding of the harms inherent in animal research; and the changing cultural perspectives about the place of animals in society [3] , [4] . In addition, serious questions have been raised about the effectiveness of animal testing and research in predicting anticipated outcomes [5] – [13] .

In August 2010, the Georgetown University Kennedy Institute of Ethics, the Johns Hopkins University Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing, the Institute for In Vitro Sciences, The George Washington University, and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine jointly held a two day multi-disciplinary, international conference in Washington, DC, to address the scientific, legal, and political opportunities and challenges to implementing alternatives to animal research. This two-day symposium aimed to advance the study of the ethical and scientific issues surrounding the use of animals in testing and research, with particular emphasis on the adequacy of current protections and the promise and challenges of developing alternatives to the use of animals in basic research, pharmaceutical research and development, and regulatory toxicology. Speakers who contributed to the conference reviewed and contributed new knowledge regarding the cognitive and affective capabilities of animals, revealed through ethology, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and related disciplines. Speakers also explored the dimensions of harm associated with animal research, touching on the ethical implications regarding the use of animals in research. Finally, several contributors presented the latest scientific advances in developing alternatives to the use of animals in pharmaceutical research and development and regulatory toxicity testing.

This Collection combines some papers that were written following this conference with an aim to highlight relevant progress and research. This Overview provides a brief summary of the ethical and scientific considerations regarding the use of animals in research and testing, some of which are highlighted in the accompanying Collection.

Analysis and Discussion

Ethical considerations and advances in the understanding of animal cognition.

Apprehension around burgeoning medical research in the late 1800s and the first half of the 20 th century sparked concerns over the use of humans and animals in research [14] , [15] . Suspicions around the use of humans were deepened with the revelation of several exploitive research projects, including a series of medical experiments on large numbers of prisoners by the Nazi German regime during World War II and the Tuskegee syphilis study. These abuses served as the impetus for the establishment of the Nuremberg Code, Declaration of Helsinki, and the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research (1974) and the resulting Belmont Report [16] – [18] . Today, these guidelines provide a platform for the protection of human research subjects, including the principles of respect, beneficence, and justice, as well as special protections for vulnerable populations.

Laws to protect animals in research have also been established. The British Parliament passed the first set of protections for animals in 1876, with the Cruelty to Animals Act [19] . Approximately ninety years later, the U.S. adopted regulations for animals used in research, with the passage of the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act of 1966 [20] . Subsequent national and international laws and guidelines have provided basic protections, but there are some significant inconsistencies among current regulations [21] . For example, the U.S. Animal Welfare Act excludes purpose-bred birds, rats, or mice, which comprise more than 90% of animals used in research [20] . In contrast, certain dogs and cats have received special attention and protections. Whereas the U.S. Animal Welfare Act excludes birds, rats and mice, the U.S. guidelines overseeing research conducted with federal funding includes protections for all vertebrates [22] , [23] . The lack of consistency is further illustrated by the “U.S. Government Principles for the Utilization and Care of Vertebrate Animals Used in Testing, Research and Training” which stress compliance with the U.S. Animal Welfare Act and “other applicable Federal laws, guidelines, and policies” [24] .

While strides have been made in the protection of both human and animal research subjects, the nature of these protections is markedly different. Human research protections emphasize specific principles aimed at protecting the interests of individuals and populations, sometimes to the detriment of the scientific question. This differs significantly from animal research guidelines, where the importance of the scientific question being researched commonly takes precedence over the interests of individual animals. Although scientists and ethicists have published numerous articles relevant to the ethics of animal research, current animal research guidelines do not articulate the rationale for the central differences between human and animal research guidelines. Currently, the majority of guidelines operate on the presumption that animal research should proceed based on broad, perceived benefits to humans. These guidelines are generally permissive of animal research independent of the costs to the individual animal as long as benefits seem achievable.

The concept of costs to individual animals can be further examined through the growing body of research on animal emotion and cognition. Studies published in the last few decades have dramatically increased our understanding of animal sentience, suggesting that animals' potential for experiencing harm is greater than has been appreciated and that current protections need to be reconsidered. It is now widely acknowledged by scientists and ethicists that animals can experience pain and distress [25] – [29] . Potential causes of harm include invasive procedures, disease, and deprivation of basic physiological needs. Other sources of harm for many animals include social deprivation and loss of the ability to fulfill natural behaviors, among other factors. Numerous studies have demonstrated that, even in response to gentle handling, animals can show marked changes in physiological and hormonal markers of stress [30] .

Although pain and suffering are subjective experiences, studies from multiple disciplines provide objective evidence of animals' abilities to experience pain. Animals demonstrate coordinated responses to pain and many emotional states that are similar to those exhibited by humans [25] , [26] . Animals share genetic, neuroanatomical, and physiological similarities with humans, and many animals express pain in ways similar to humans. Animals also share similarities with humans in genetic, developmental, and environmental risk factors for psychopathology [25] , [26] . For example, fear operates in a less organized subcortical neural circuit than pain, and it has been described in a wide variety of species [31] . More complex markers of psychological distress have also been described in animals. Varying forms of depression have been repeatedly reported in animals, including nonhuman primates, dogs, pigs, cats, birds and rodents, among others [32] – [34] . Anxiety disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, have been described in animals including chimpanzees and elephants [35] , [36] , [37] .

In addition to the capacity to experience physical and psychological pain or distress, animals also display many language-like abilities, complex problem-solving skills, tool related cognition and pleasure-seeking, with empathy and self-awareness also suggested by some research. [38] – [44] . Play behavior, an indicator of pleasure, is widespread in mammals, and has also been described in birds [45] , [46] . Behavior suggestive of play has been observed in other taxa, including reptiles, fishes and cephalopods [43] . Self-awareness, assessed through mirror self-recognition, has been reported for chimpanzees and other great apes, magpies, and some cetaceans. More recent studies have shown that crows are capable of creating and using tools that require access to episodic-like memory formation and retrieval [47] . These findings suggest that crows and related species display evidence of causal reasoning, flexible learning strategies, imagination and prospection, similar to findings in great apes. These findings also challenge our assumptions about species similarities and differences and their relevance in solving ethical dilemmas regarding the use of animals in research.

Predictive Value of Animal Data and the Impact of Technical Innovations on Animal Use

In the last decade, concerns have mounted about how relevant animal experiments are to human health outcomes. Several papers have examined the concordance between animal and human data, demonstrating that findings in animals were not reliably replicated in human clinical research [5] – [13] . Recent systematic reviews of treatments for various clinical conditions demonstrated that animal studies have been poorly predictive of human outcomes in the fields of neurology and vascular disease, among others [7] , [48] . These reviews have raised questions about whether human diseases inflicted upon animals sufficiently mimic the disease processes and treatment responses seen in humans.

The value of animal use for predicting human outcomes has also been questioned in the regulatory toxicology field, which relies on a codified set of highly standardized animal experiments for assessing various types of toxicity. Despite serious shortcomings for many of these assays, most of which are 50 to 60 years old, the field has been slow to adopt newer methods. The year 2007 marked a turning point in the toxicology field, with publication of a landmark report by the U.S. National Research Council (NRC), highlighting the need to embrace in vitro and computational methods in order to obtain data that more accurately predicts toxic effects in humans. The report, “Toxicity Testing in the 21 st Century: A Vision and a Strategy,” was commissioned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, partially due to the recognition of weaknesses in existing approaches to toxicity testing [49] . The NRC vision calls for a shift away from animal use in chemical testing toward computational models and high-throughput and high-content in vitro methods. The report emphasized that these methods can provide more predictive data, more quickly and affordably than traditional in vivo methods. Subsequently published articles address the implementation of this vision for improving the current system of chemical testing and assessment [50] , [51] .

While a sea change is underway in regulatory toxicology, there has been much less dialogue surrounding the replacement of animals in research, despite the fact that far more animals are used in basic and applied research than in regulatory toxicology. The use of animals in research is inherently more difficult to approach systematically because research questions are much more diverse and less proscribed than in regulatory toxicology [52] . Because researchers often use very specialized assays and systems to address their hypotheses, replacement of animals in this area is a more individualized endeavour. Researchers and oversight boards have to evaluate the relevance of the research question and whether the tools of modern molecular and cell biology, genetics, biochemistry, and computational biology can be used in lieu of animals. While none of these tools on their own are capable of replicating a whole organism, they do provide a mechanistic understanding of molecular events. It is important for researchers and reviewers to assess differences in the clinical presentation and manifestation of diseases among species, as well as anatomical, physiological, and genetic differences that could impact the transferability of findings. Another relevant consideration is how well animal data can mirror relevant epigenetic effects and human genetic variability.

Examples of existing and promising non-animal methods have been reviewed recently by Langley and colleagues, who highlighted advances in fields including orthodontics, neurology, immunology, infectious diseases, pulmonology, endocrine and metabolism, cardiology, and obstetrics [52] .

Many researchers have also begun to rely solely on human data and cell and tissue assays to address large areas of therapeutic research and development. In the area of vaccine testing and development, a surrogate in-vitro human immune system has been developed to help predict an individual's immune response to a particular drug or vaccine [53] , [54] . This system includes a blood-donor base of hundreds of individuals from diverse populations and offers many benefits, including predictive high-throughput in vitro immunology to assess novel drug and vaccine candidates, measurement of immune responses in diverse human populations, faster cycle time for discovery, better selection of drug candidates for clinical evaluation, and reductions in the time and costs to bring drugs and vaccines to the market. In the case of vaccines, this system can be used at every stage, including in vitro disease models, antigen selection and adjuvant effects, safety testing, clinical trials, manufacturing, and potency assays. When compared with data from animal experiments, this system has produced more accurate pre-clinical data.

The examples above illustrate how innovative applications of technology can generate data more meaningful to humans, and reduce or replace animal use, but advances in medicine may also require novel approaches to setting research priorities. The Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, which focuses on eradicating breast cancer, has challenged research scientists to move from animal research to breast cancer prevention research involving women. If researchers could better understand the factors that increase the risk for breast cancer, as well as methods for effective prevention, fewer women would require treatment for breast cancer. Whereas animal research is largely investigator-initiated, this model tries to address the questions that are central to the care of women at risk for or affected by breast cancer. This approach has facilitated the recruitment of women for studies including a national project funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Environmental Health to examine how environment and genes affect breast cancer risk. This study, which began in 2002, could not have been accomplished with animal research [55] .

Similarly, any approach that emphasizes evidence-based prevention would provide benefits to both animals and humans. Resource limitations might require a strategic approach that emphasizes diseases with the greatest public health threats, which increasingly fall within the scope of preventable diseases.

It is clear that there have been many scientific and ethical advances since the first publication of Russell and Burch's book. However, some in the scientific community are beginning to question how well data from animals translates into germane knowledge and treatment of human conditions. Efforts to objectively evaluate the value of animal research for understanding and treating human disease are particularly relevant in the modern era, considering the availability of increasingly sophisticated technologies to address research questions [9] . Ethical objections to the use of animals have been publically voiced for more than a century, well before there was a firm scientific understanding of animal emotion and cognition [15] . Now, a better understanding of animals' capacity for pain and suffering is prompting many to take a closer look at the human use of animals [56] .

Articles in the accompanying Collection only briefly touch on the many scientific and ethical issues surrounding the use of animals in testing and research. While it is important to acknowledge limitations to non-animal methods remain, recent developments demonstrate that these limitations should be viewed as rousing challenges rather than insurmountable obstacles. Although discussion of these issues can be difficult, progress is most likely to occur through an ethically consistent, evidence-based approach. This collection aims to spur further steps forward toward a more coherent ethical framework for scientific advancement.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the conference speakers and participants for their participation.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: HRF NB. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: HRF NB. Wrote the paper: HRF NB.

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Ethical care for research animals

WHY ANIMAL RESEARCH?

The use of animals in some forms of biomedical research remains essential to the discovery of the causes, diagnoses, and treatment of disease and suffering in humans and in animals., stanford shares the public's concern for laboratory research animals..

Many people have questions about animal testing ethics and the animal testing debate. We take our responsibility for the ethical treatment of animals in medical research very seriously. At Stanford, we emphasize that the humane care of laboratory animals is essential, both ethically and scientifically.  Poor animal care is not good science. If animals are not well-treated, the science and knowledge they produce is not trustworthy and cannot be replicated, an important hallmark of the scientific method .

There are several reasons why the use of animals is critical for biomedical research: 

••  Animals are biologically very similar to humans. In fact, mice share more than 98% DNA with us!

••  Animals are susceptible to many of the same health problems as humans – cancer, diabetes, heart disease, etc.

••  With a shorter life cycle than humans, animal models can be studied throughout their whole life span and across several generations, a critical element in understanding how a disease processes and how it interacts with a whole, living biological system.

The ethics of animal experimentation

Nothing so far has been discovered that can be a substitute for the complex functions of a living, breathing, whole-organ system with pulmonary and circulatory structures like those in humans. Until such a discovery, animals must continue to play a critical role in helping researchers test potential new drugs and medical treatments for effectiveness and safety, and in identifying any undesired or dangerous side effects, such as infertility, birth defects, liver damage, toxicity, or cancer-causing potential.

U.S. federal laws require that non-human animal research occur to show the safety and efficacy of new treatments before any human research will be allowed to be conducted.  Not only do we humans benefit from this research and testing, but hundreds of drugs and treatments developed for human use are now routinely used in veterinary clinics as well, helping animals live longer, healthier lives.

It is important to stress that 95% of all animals necessary for biomedical research in the United States are rodents – rats and mice especially bred for laboratory use – and that animals are only one part of the larger process of biomedical research.

Our researchers are strong supporters of animal welfare and view their work with animals in biomedical research as a privilege.

Stanford researchers are obligated to ensure the well-being of all animals in their care..

Stanford researchers are obligated to ensure the well-being of animals in their care, in strict adherence to the highest standards, and in accordance with federal and state laws, regulatory guidelines, and humane principles. They are also obligated to continuously update their animal-care practices based on the newest information and findings in the fields of laboratory animal care and husbandry.  

Researchers requesting use of animal models at Stanford must have their research proposals reviewed by a federally mandated committee that includes two independent community members.  It is only with this committee’s approval that research can begin. We at Stanford are dedicated to refining, reducing, and replacing animals in research whenever possible, and to using alternative methods (cell and tissue cultures, computer simulations, etc.) instead of or before animal studies are ever conducted.

Organizations and Resources

There are many outreach and advocacy organizations in the field of biomedical research.

• Learn more about outreach and advocacy organizations

Stanford Discoveries

What are the benefits of using animals in research? Stanford researchers have made many important human and animal life-saving discoveries through their work. 

• Learn more about research discoveries at Stanford

Animal research essay resources

Many students, from primary school to university, write assignments  that relate to the issue of animal research. This page aims to support  this by providing links to useful materials. It is especially useful to any students carrying out the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) alongside their A-levels or Extended Essay as part of their International Baccalaureate studies. Those students should read the  section below. Beneath each link is a  Harvard Reference  for the book, webpage or document in question which can be used in the footnotes or endnotes of your project paper. For online resources it is common practice to add the date you accessed the resource in square brackets at the end e.g. Cressey, D., 2011. Animal Research: Battle Scars. Nature. [online] 23 February. Available at: < http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110223/full/470452a.html > [Accessed: 6 February 2013]

Extended project qualification (EPQ)

Many students carry out their EPQ on the subject of animal research or animal testing. This page aims to help students find resources which are relevant to their project. It is important for students to discuss their project with their project supervisor as many of the marks are contingent on this process. This page is aimed at helping students with the AO1 (Manage) and AO2 (Use Resources) assessment objectives of their EPQ. AO1 requires students to identify their topic and the project’s aims and objectives. They must then produce a project plan and complete their work, applying organisational skills and strategies to meet stated objectives. This page aims to help students get a handle on the topic of animal research and provide some inspiration for possible areas of further study. AO2 requires students to obtain, and select from, a variety of resources, analyse and apply this data in a relevant manner and demonstrate an understanding of appropriate links. This page will provide links to large amounts of relevant information that students can use for their project, however it remains up to students to critically analyse and apply it to their specific project focus. Click on one of the links below for resources on the specific area of interest surrounding the issue of animal testing:

History of animal research

Ethics of animal experiments, costs and benefits of research, regulatory systems and the 3rs, animal rights activism and extremism, general websites, featured news.

Long Covid, can animals provide the answers?

UK government doubles funding for the 3Rs

Letter from Lord Sharpe of Epsom responding to the ASC forced swim test report

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Ethical considerations regarding animal experimentation

Aysha karim kiani.

1 Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan

2 MAGI EUREGIO, Bolzano, Italy

DEREK PHEBY

3 Society and Health, Buckinghamshire New University, High Wycombe, UK

GARY HENEHAN

4 School of Food Science and Environmental Health, Technological University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

RICHARD BROWN

5 Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

PAUL SIEVING

6 Department of Ophthalmology, Center for Ocular Regenerative Therapy, School of Medicine, University of California at Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA

PETER SYKORA

7 Department of Philosophy and Applied Philosophy, University of St. Cyril and Methodius, Trnava, Slovakia

ROBERT MARKS

8 Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel

BENEDETTO FALSINI

9 Institute of Ophthalmology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli-IRCCS, Rome, Italy

NATALE CAPODICASA

10 MAGI BALKANS, Tirana, Albania

STANISLAV MIERTUS

11 Department of Biotechnology, University of SS. Cyril and Methodius, Trnava, Slovakia

12 International Centre for Applied Research and Sustainable Technology, Bratislava, Slovakia

LORENZO LORUSSO

13 UOC Neurology and Stroke Unit, ASST Lecco, Merate, Italy

DANIELE DONDOSSOLA

14 Center for Preclincal Research and General and Liver Transplant Surgery Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca‘ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy

15 Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy

GIANLUCA MARTINO TARTAGLIA

16 Department of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy

17 UOC Maxillo-Facial Surgery and Dentistry, Fondazione IRCCS Ca Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy

MAHMUT CERKEZ ERGOREN

18 Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Near East University, Nicosia, Cyprus

MUNIS DUNDAR

19 Department of Medical Genetics, Erciyes University Medical Faculty, Kayseri, Turkey

SANDRO MICHELINI

20 Vascular Diagnostics and Rehabilitation Service, Marino Hospital, ASL Roma 6, Marino, Italy

DANIELE MALACARNE

21 MAGI’S LAB, Rovereto (TN), Italy

GABRIELE BONETTI

Astrit dautaj, kevin donato, maria chiara medori, tommaso beccari.

22 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy

MICHELE SAMAJA

23 MAGI GROUP, San Felice del Benaco (BS), Italy

STEPHEN THADDEUS CONNELLY

24 San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

DONALD MARTIN

25 Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble INP, TIMC-IMAG, SyNaBi, Grenoble, France

ASSUNTA MORRESI

26 Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy

ARIOLA BACU

27 Department of Biotechnology, University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania

KAREN L. HERBST

28 Total Lipedema Care, Beverly Hills California and Tucson Arizona, USA

MYKHAYLO KAPUSTIN

29 Federation of the Jewish Communities of Slovakia

LIBORIO STUPPIA

30 Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University "G. d'Annunzio", Chieti, Italy

LUDOVICA LUMER

31 Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, University College London, London, UK

GIAMPIETRO FARRONATO

Matteo bertelli.

32 MAGISNAT, Peachtree Corners (GA), USA

Animal experimentation is widely used around the world for the identification of the root causes of various diseases in humans and animals and for exploring treatment options. Among the several animal species, rats, mice and purpose-bred birds comprise almost 90% of the animals that are used for research purpose. However, growing awareness of the sentience of animals and their experience of pain and suffering has led to strong opposition to animal research among many scientists and the general public. In addition, the usefulness of extrapolating animal data to humans has been questioned. This has led to Ethical Committees’ adoption of the ‘four Rs’ principles (Reduction, Refinement, Replacement and Responsibility) as a guide when making decisions regarding animal experimentation. Some of the essential considerations for humane animal experimentation are presented in this review along with the requirement for investigator training. Due to the ethical issues surrounding the use of animals in experimentation, their use is declining in those research areas where alternative in vitro or in silico methods are available. However, so far it has not been possible to dispense with experimental animals completely and further research is needed to provide a road map to robust alternatives before their use can be fully discontinued.

How to cite this article: Kiani AK, Pheby D, Henehan G, Brown R, Sieving P, Sykora P, Marks R, Falsini B, Capodicasa N, Miertus S, Lorusso L, Dondossola D, Tartaglia GM, Ergoren MC, Dundar M, Michelini S, Malacarne D, Bonetti G, Dautaj A, Donato K, Medori MC, Beccari T, Samaja M, Connelly ST, Martin D, Morresi A, Bacu A, Herbst KL, Kapustin M, Stuppia L, Lumer L, Farronato G, Bertelli M. Ethical considerations regarding animal experimentation. J Prev Med Hyg 2022;63(suppl.3):E255-E266. https://doi.org/10.15167/2421-4248/jpmh2022.63.2S3.2768

Introduction

Animal model-based research has been performed for a very long time. Ever since the 5 th century B.C., reports of experiments involving animals have been documented, but an increase in the frequency of their utilization has been observed since the 19 th century [ 1 ]. Most institutions for medical research around the world use non-human animals as experimental subjects [ 2 ]. Such animals might be used for research experimentations to gain a better understanding of human diseases or for exploring potential treatment options [ 2 ]. Even those animals that are evolutionarily quite distant from humans, such as Drosophila melanogaster , Zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) and Caenorhabditis elegans , share physiological and genetic similarities with human beings [ 2 ]; therefore animal experimentation can be of great help for the advancement of medical science [ 2 ].

For animal experimentation, the major assumption is that the animal research will be of benefit to humans. There are many reasons that highlight the significance of animal use in biomedical research. One of the major reasons is that animals and humans share the same biological processes. In addition, vertebrates have many anatomical similarities (all vertebrates have lungs, a heart, kidneys, liver and other organs) [ 3 ]. Therefore, these similarities make certain animals more suitable for experiments and for providing basic training to young researchers and students in different fields of biological and biomedical sciences [ 3 ]. Certain animals are susceptible to various health problems that are similar to human diseases such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease [ 4 ]. Furthermore, there are genetically modified animals that are used to obtain pathological phenotypes [ 5 ]. A significant benefit of animal experimentation is that test species can be chosen that have a much shorter life cycle than humans. Therefore, animal models can be studied throughout their life span and for several successive generations, an essential element for the understanding of disease progression along with its interaction with the whole organism throughout its lifetime [ 6 ].

Animal models often play a critical role in helping researchers who are exploring the efficacy and safety of potential medical treatments and drugs. They help to identify any dangerous or undesired side effects, such as birth defects, infertility, toxicity, liver damage or any potential carcinogenic effects [ 7 ]. Currently, U.S. Federal law, for example, requires that non-human animal research is used to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of any new treatment options before proceeding to trials on humans [ 8 ]. Of course, it is not only humans benefit from this research and testing, since many of the drugs and treatments that are developed for humans are routinely used in veterinary clinics, which help animals live longer and healthier lives [ 4 ].

COVID-19 AND THE NEED FOR ANIMAL MODELS

When COVID-19 struck, there was a desperate need for research on the disease, its effects on the brain and body and on the development of new treatments for patients with the disease. Early in the disease it was noticed that those with the disease suffered a loss of smell and taste, as well as neurological and psychiatric symptoms, some of which lasted long after the patients had “survived” the disease [ 9-15 ]. As soon as the pandemic started, there was a search for appropriate animal models in which to study this unknown disease [ 16 , 17 ]. While genetically modified mice and rats are the basic animal models for neurological and immunological research [ 18 , 19 ] the need to understand COVID-19 led to a range of animal models; from fruit flies [ 20 ] and Zebrafish [ 21 ] to large mammals [ 22 , 23 ] and primates [ 24 , 25 ]. And it was just not one animal model that was needed, but many, because different aspects of the disease are best studied in different animal models [ 16 , 25 , 26 ]. There is also a need to study the transmission pathways of the zoonosis: where does it come from, what are the animal hosts and how is it transferred to humans [ 27 ]?

There has been a need for animal models for understanding the pathophysiology of COVID-19 [ 28 ], for studying the mechanisms of transmission of the disease [ 16 ], for studying its neurobiology [ 29 , 30 ] and for developing new vaccines [ 31 ]. The sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the fact that animal research is necessary, and that the curtailment of such research has serious consequences for the health of both humans and animals, both wild and domestic [ 32 ] As highlighted by Adhikary et al. [ 22 ] and Genzel et al. [ 33 ] the coronavirus has made clear the necessity for animal research and the danger in surviving future such pandemics if animal research is not fully supported. Genzel et al. [ 33 ], in particular, take issue with the proposal for a European ban on animal testing. Finally, there is a danger in bypassing animal research in developing new vaccines for diseases such as COVID-19 [ 34 ]. The purpose of this paper is to show that, while animal research is necessary for the health of both humans and animals, there is a need to carry out such experimentation in a controlled and humane manner. The use of alternatives to animal research such as cultured human cells and computer modeling may be a useful adjunct to animal studies but will require that such methods are more readily accessible to researchers and are not a replacement for animal experimentation.

Pros and cons of animal experimentation

Arguments against animal experimentation.

A fundamental question surrounding this debate is to ask whether it is appropriate to use animals for medical research. Is our acceptance that animals have a morally lower value or standard of life just a case of speciesism [ 35 ]? Nowadays, most people agree that animals have a moral status and that needlessly hurting or abusing pets or other animals is unacceptable. This represents something of a change from the historical point of view where animals did not have any moral status and the treatment of animals was mostly subservient to maintaining the health and dignity of humans [ 36 ].

Animal rights advocates strongly argue that the moral status of non-human animals is similar to that of humans, and that animals are entitled to equality of treatment. In this view, animals should be treated with the same level of respect as humans, and no one should have the right to force them into any service or to kill them or use them for their own goals. One aspect of this argument claims that moral status depends upon the capacity to suffer or enjoy life [ 37 ].

In terms of suffering and the capacity of enjoying life, many animals are not very different from human beings, as they can feel pain and experience pleasure [ 38 ]. Hence, they should be given the same moral status as humans and deserve equivalent treatment. Supporters of this argument point out that according animals a lower moral status than humans is a type of prejudice known as “speciesism” [ 38 ]. Among humans, it is widely accepted that being a part of a specific race or of a specific gender does not provide the right to ascribe a lower moral status to the outsiders. Many advocates of animal rights deploy the same argument, that being human does not give us sufficient grounds declare animals as being morally less significant [ 36 ].

ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF ANIMAL EXPERIMENTATION

Those who support animal experimentation have frequently made the argument that animals cannot be elevated to be seen as morally equal to humans [ 39 ]. Their main argument is that the use of the terms “moral status” or “morality” is debatable. They emphasize that we must not make the error of defining a quality or capacity associated with an animal by using the same adjectives used for humans [ 39 ]. Since, for the most part, animals do not possess humans’ cognitive capabilities and lack full autonomy (animals do not appear to rationally pursue specific goals in life), it is argued that therefore, they cannot be included in the moral community [ 39 ]. It follows from this line of argument that, if animals do not possess the same rights as human beings, their use in research experimentation can be considered appropriate [ 40 ]. The European and the American legislation support this kind of approach as much as their welfare is respected.

Another aspect of this argument is that the benefits to human beings of animal experimentation compensate for the harm caused to animals by these experiments.

In other words, animal harm is morally insignificant compared to the potential benefits to humans. Essentially, supporters of animal experimentation claim that human beings have a higher moral status than animals and that animals lack certain fundamental rights accorded to humans. The potential violations of animal rights during animal research are, in this way, justified by the greater benefits to mankind [ 40 , 41 ]. A way to evaluate when the experiments are morally justified was published in 1986 by Bateson, which developed the Bateson’s Cube [ 42 ]. The Cube has three axes: suffering, certainty of benefit and quality of research. If the research is high-quality, beneficial, and not inflicting suffering, it will be acceptable. At the contrary, painful, low-quality research with lower likelihood of success will not be acceptable [ 42 , 43 ].

Impact of experimentations on animals

Ability to feel pain and distress.

Like humans, animal have certain physical as well as psychological characteristics that make their use for experimentation controversial [ 44 ].

In the last few decades, many studies have increased knowledge of animal awareness and sentience: they indicate that animals have greater potential to experience damage than previously appreciated and that current rights and protections need to be reconsidered [ 45 ]. In recent times, scientists as well as ethicists have broadly acknowledged that animals can also experience distress and pain [ 46 ]. Potential sources of such harm arising from their use in research include disease, basic physiological needs deprivation and invasive procedures [ 46 ]. Moreover, social deprivation and lack of the ability to carry out their natural behaviors are other causes of animal harm [ 46 ]. Several studies have shown that, even in response to very gentle handling and management, animals can show marked alterations in their physiological and hormonal stress markers [ 47 ].

In spite of the fact that suffering and pain are personalized experiences, several multi-disciplinary studies have provided clear evidence of animals experiencing pain and distress. In particular, some animal species have the ability to express pain similarly to human due to common psychological, neuroanatomical and genetic characteristics [ 48 ]. Similarly, animals share a resemblance to humans in their developmental, genetic and environmental risk factors for psychopathology. For instance, in many species, it has been shown that fear operates within a less organized subcortical neural circuit than pain [ 49 , 50 ]. Various types of depression and anxiety disorders like posttraumatic stress disorder have also been reported in mammals [ 51 ].

PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES OF ANIMALS

Some researchers have suggested that besides their ability to experience physical and psychological pain and distress, some animals also exhibit empathy, self-awareness and language-like capabilities. They also demonstrate tools-linked cognizance, pleasure-seeking and advanced problem-solving skills [ 52 ]. Moreover, mammals and birds exhibit playful behavior, an indicator of the capacity to experience pleasure. Other taxa such as reptiles, cephalopods and fishes have also been observed to display playful behavior, therefore the current legislation prescribes the use of environmental enrichers [ 53 ]. The presence of self-awareness ability, as assessed by mirror self-recognition, has been reported in magpies, chimpanzees and other apes, and certain cetaceans [ 54 ]. Recently, another study has revealed that crows have the ability to create and use tools that involve episodic-like memory formation and its retrieval. From these findings, it may be suggested that crows as well as related species show evidence of flexible learning strategies, causal reasoning, prospection and imagination that are similar to behavior observed in great apes [ 55 ]. In the context of resolving the ethical dilemmas about animal experimentation, these observations serve to highlight the challenges involved [ 56 , 57 ].

Ethics, principles and legislation in animal experimentation

Ethics in animal experimentation.

Legislation around animal research is based on the idea of the moral acceptability of the proposed experiments under specific conditions [ 58 ]. The significance of research ethics that ensures proper treatment of experimental animals [ 58 ]. To avoid undue suffering of animals, it is important to follow ethical considerations during animal studies [ 1 ]. It is important to provide best human care to these animals from the ethical and scientific point of view [ 1 ]. Poor animal care can lead to experimental outcomes [ 1 ]. Thus, if experimental animals mistreated, the scientific knowledge and conclusions obtained from experiments may be compromised and may be difficult to replicate, a hallmark of scientific research [ 1 ]. At present, most ethical guidelines work on the assumption that animal experimentation is justified because of the significant potential benefits to human beings. These guidelines are often permissive of animal experimentation regardless of the damage to the animal as long as human benefits are achieved [ 59 ].

PRINCIPLE OF THE 4 RS

Although animal experimentation has resulted in many discoveries and helped in the understanding numerous aspects of biological science, its use in various sectors is strictly controlled. In practice, the proposed set of animal experiments is usually considered by a multidisciplinary Ethics Committee before work can commence [ 60 ]. This committee will review the research protocol and make a judgment as to its sustainability. National and international laws govern the utilization of animal experimentation during research and these laws are mostly based on the universal doctrine presented by Russell and Burch (1959) known as principle of the 3 Rs. The 3Rs referred to are Reduction, Refinement and Replacement, and are applied to protocols surrounding the use of animals in research. Some researchers have proposed another “R”, of responsibility for the experimental animal as well as for the social and scientific status of the animal experiments [ 61 ]. Thus, animal ethics committees commonly review research projects with reference to the 4 Rs principles [ 62 ].

The first “R”, Reduction means that the experimental design is examined to ensure that researchers have reduced the number of experimental animals in a research project to the minimum required for reliable data [ 59 ]. Methods used for this purpose include improved experimental design, extensive literature search to avoid duplication of experiments [ 35 ], use of advanced imaging techniques, sharing resources and data, and appropriate statistical data analysis that reduce the number of animals needed for statistically significant results [ 2 , 63 ].

The second “R”, Refinement involves improvements in procedure that minimize the harmful effects of the proposed experiments on the animals involved, such as reducing pain, distress and suffering in a manner that leads to a general improvement in animal welfare. This might include for example improved living conditions for research animals, proper training of people handling animals, application of anesthesia and analgesia when required and the need for euthanasia of the animals at the end of the experiment to curtail their suffering [ 63 ].

The third “R”, Replacement refers to approaches that replace or avoid the use of experimental animals altogether. These approaches involve use of in silico methods/computerized techniques/software and in vitro methods like cell and tissue culture testing, as well as relative replacement methods by use of invertebrates like nematode worms, fruit flies and microorganisms in place of vertebrates and higher animals [ 1 ]. Examples of proper application of these first “3R2 principles are the use of alternative sources of blood, the exploitation of commercially used animals for scientific research, a proper training without use of animals and the use of specimen from previous experiments for further researches [ 64-67 ].

The fourth “R”, Responsibility refers to concerns around promoting animal welfare by improvements in experimental animals’ social life, development of advanced scientific methods for objectively determining sentience, consciousness, experience of pain and intelligence in the animal kingdom, as well as effective involvement in the professionalization of the public discussion on animal ethics [ 68 ].

OTHER ASPECTS OF ANIMAL RESEARCH ETHICS

Other research ethics considerations include having a clear rationale and reasoning for the use of animals in a research project. Researchers must have reasonable expectation of generating useful data from the proposed experiment. Moreover, the research study should be designed in such a way that it should involve the lowest possible sample size of experimental animals while producing statistically significant results [ 35 ].

All individual researchers that handle experimental animals should be properly trained for handling the particular species involved in the research study. The animal’s pain, suffering and discomfort should be minimized [ 69 ]. Animals should be given proper anesthesia when required and surgical procedures should not be repeated on same animal whenever possible [ 69 ]. The procedure of humane handling and care of experimental animals should be explicitly detailed in the research study protocol. Moreover, whenever required, aseptic techniques should be properly followed [ 70 ]. During the research, anesthetization and surgical procedures on experimental animals should only be performed by professionally skilled individuals [ 69 ].

The Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) guidelines that are issued by the National Center for the Replacement, Refinement, and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) are designed to improve the documentation surrounding research involving experimental animals [ 70 ]. The checklist provided includes the information required in the various sections of the manuscript i.e. study design, ethical statements, experimental procedures, experimental animals and their housing and husbandry, and more [ 70 ].

It is critical to follow the highest ethical standards while performing animal experiments. Indeed, most of the journals refuse to publish any research data that lack proper ethical considerations [ 35 ].

INVESTIGATORS’ ETHICS

Since animals have sensitivity level similar to the human beings in terms of pain, anguish, survival instinct and memory, it is the responsibility of the investigator to closely monitor the animals that are used and identify any sign of distress [ 71 ]. No justification can rationalize the absence of anesthesia or analgesia in animals that undergo invasive surgery during the research [ 72 ]. Investigators are also responsible for giving high-quality care to the experimental animals, including the supply of a nutritious diet, easy water access, prevention of and relief from any pain, disease and injury, and appropriate housing facilities for the animal species [ 73 ]. A research experiment is not permitted if the damage caused to the animal exceeds the value of knowledge gained by that experiment. No scientific advancement based on the destruction and sufferings of another living being could be justified. Besides ensuring the welfare of animals involved, investigators must also follow the applicable legislation [ 74 , 75 ].

To promote the comfort of experimental animals in England, an animal protection society named: ‘The Society for the Preservation of Cruelty to Animals’ (now the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) was established (1824) that aims to prevent cruelty to animal [ 76 ].

ANIMAL WELFARE LAWS

Legislation for animal protection during research has long been established. In 1876 the British Parliament sanctioned the ‘Cruelty to Animals Act’ for animal protection. Russell and Burch (1959) presented the ‘3 Rs’ principles: Replacement, Reduction and Refinement, for use of animals during research [ 61 ]. Almost seven years later, the U.S.A also adopted regulations for the protection of experimental animals by enacting the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act of 1966 [ 60 ]. In Brazil, the Arouca Law (Law No. 11,794/08) regulates the animal use in scientific research experiments [ 76 ].

These laws define the breeding conditions, and regulate the use of animals for scientific research and teaching purposes. Such legal provisions control the use of anesthesia, analgesia or sedation in experiments that could cause distress or pain to experimental animals [ 59 , 76 ]. These laws also stress the need for euthanasia when an experiment is finished, or even during the experiment if there is any intense suffering for the experimental animal [ 76 ].

Several national and international organizations have been established to develop alternative techniques so that animal experimentation can be avoided, such as the UK-based National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) ( www.caat.jhsph.edu ), the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) [ 77 ], the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) ( www.ufaw.org.uk ), The Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) [ 78 ], and The Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) ( www.caat.jhsph.edu ). The Brazilian ‘Arouca Law’ also constitutes a milestone, as it has created the ‘National Council for the Control of Animal Experimentation’ (CONCEA) that deals with the legal and ethical issues related to the use of experimental animals during scientific research [ 76 ].

Although national as well as international laws and guidelines have provided basic protections for experimental animals, the current regulations have some significant discrepancies. In the U.S., the Animal Welfare Act excludes rats, mice and purpose-bred birds, even though these species comprise almost 90% of the animals that are used for research purpose [ 79 ]. On the other hand, certain cats and dogs are getting special attention along with extra protection. While the U.S. Animal Welfare Act ignores birds, mice and rats, the U.S. guidelines that control research performed using federal funding ensure protections for all vertebrates [ 79 , 80 ].

Living conditions of animals

Choice of the animal model.

Based on all the above laws and regulations and in line with the deliberations of ethical committees, every researcher must follow certain rules when dealing with animal models.

Before starting any experimental work, thorough research should be carried out during the study design phase so that the unnecessary use of experimental animals is avoided. Nevertheless, certain research studies may have compelling reasons for the use of animal models, such as the investigation of human diseases and toxicity tests. Moreover, animals are also widely used in the training of health professionals as well as in training doctors in surgical skills [ 1 , 81 ].

Researcher should be well aware of the specific traits of the animal species they intend to use in the experiment, such as its developmental stages, physiology, nutritional needs, reproductive characteristics and specific behaviors. Animal models should be selected on the basis of the study design and the biological relevance of the animal [ 1 ].

Typically, in early research, non-mammalian models are used to get rapid insights into research problems such as the identification of gene function or the recognition of novel therapeutic options. Thus, in biomedical and biological research, among the most commonly used model organisms are the Zebrafish, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans . The main advantage of these non-mammalian animal models is their prolific reproducibility along with their much shorter generation time. They can be easily grown in any laboratory setting, are less expensive than the murine animal models and are somewhat more powerful than the tissue and cell culture approaches [ 82 ].

Caenorhabditis elegans is a small-sized nematode with a short life cycle and that exists in large populations and is relatively inexpensive to cultivate. Scientists have gathered extensive knowledge of the genomics and genetics of Caenorhabditis elegans ; but Caenorhabditis elegans models, while very useful in some respects, are unable to represent all signaling pathways found in humans. Furthermore, due to its short life cycle, scientists are unable to investigate long term effects of test compounds or to analyze primary versus secondary effects [ 6 ].

Similarly, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has played a key role in numerous biomedical discoveries. It is small in size, has a short life cycle and large population size, is relatively inexpensive to breed, and extensive genomics and genetics information is available [ 6 ]. However, its respiratory, cardiovascular and nervous systems differ considerably from human beings. In addition, its immune system is less developed when compared to vertebrates, which is why effectiveness of a drug in Drosophila melanogaster may not be easily extrapolated to humans [ 83 ].

The Zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) is a small freshwater teleost, with transparent embryos, providing easy access for the observation of organogenesis and its manipulation. Therefore, Zebrafish embryos are considered good animal models for different human diseases like tuberculosis and fetal alcohol syndrome and are useful as neurodevelopmental research models. However, Zebrafish has very few mutant strains available, and its genome has numerous duplicate genes making it impossible to create knockout strains, since disrupting one copy of the gene will not disrupt the second copy of that gene. This feature limits the use of Zebrafish as animal models to study human diseases. Additionally they are rather expensive, have long life cycle, and genomics and genetics studies are still in progress [ 82 , 84 ].

Thus, experimentation on these three animals might not be equivalent to experimentation on mammals. Mammalian animal model are most similar to human beings, so targeted gene replacement is possible. Traditionally, mammals like monkey and mice have been the preferred animal models for biomedical research because of their evolutionary closeness to humans. Rodents, particularly mice and rats, are the most frequently used animal models for scientific research. Rats are the most suitable animal model for the study of obesity, shock, peritonitis, sepsis, cancer, intestinal operations, spleen, gastric ulcers, mononuclear phagocytic system, organ transplantations and wound healing. Mice are more suitable for studying burns, megacolon, shock, cancer, obesity, and sepsis as mentioned previously [ 85 ].

Similarly, pigs are mostly used for stomach, liver and transplantation studies, while rabbits are suitable for the study of immunology, inflammation, vascular biology, shock, colitis and transplantations. Thus, the choice of experimental animal mainly depends upon the field of scientific research under consideration [ 1 ].

HOUSING AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT

Researchers should be aware of the environment and conditions in which laboratory animals are kept during research, and they also need to be familiar with the metabolism of the animals kept in vivarium, since their metabolism can easily be altered by different factors such as pain, stress, confinement, lack of sunlight, etc. Housing conditions alter animal behavior, and this can in turn affect experimental results. By contrast, handling procedures that feature environmental enrichment and enhancement help to decrease stress and positively affect the welfare of the animals and the reliability of research data [ 74 , 75 ].

In animals, distress- and agony-causing factors should be controlled or eliminated to overcome any interference with data collection as well as with interpretation of the results, since impaired animal welfare leads to more animal usage during experiment, decreased reliability and increased discrepancies in results along with the unnecessary consumption of animal lives [ 86 ].

To reduce the variation or discrepancies in experimental data caused by various environmental factors, experimental animals must be kept in an appropriate and safe place. In addition, it is necessary to keep all variables like humidity, airflow and temperature at levels suitable for those species, as any abrupt variation in these factors could cause stress, reduced resistance and increased susceptibility to infections [ 74 ].

The space allotted to experimental animals should permit them free movement, proper sleep and where feasible allow for interaction with other animals of the same species. Mice and rats are quite sociable animals and must, therefore, be housed in groups for the expression of their normal behavior. Usually, laboratory cages are not appropriate for the behavioral needs of the animals. Therefore, environmental enrichment is an important feature for the expression of their natural behavior that will subsequently affect their defense mechanisms and physiology [ 87 ].

The features of environmental enrichment must satisfy the animals’ sense of curiosity, offer them fun activities, and also permit them to fulfill their behavioral and physiological needs. These needs include exploring, hiding, building nests and gnawing. For this purpose, different things can be used in their environment, such as PVC tubes, cardboard, igloos, paper towel, cotton, disposable masks and paper strips [ 87 ].

The environment used for housing of animals must be continuously controlled by appropriate disinfection, hygiene protocols, sterilization and sanitation processes. These steps lead to a reduction in the occurrence of various infectious agents that often found in vivarium, such as Sendai virus, cestoda and Mycoplasma pulmonis [ 88 ].

Euthanasia is a term derived from Greek, and it means a death without any suffering. According to the Brazilian Arouca Law (Article 14, Chapter IV, Paragraphs 1 and 2), an animal should undergo euthanasia, in strict compliance with the requirements of each species, when the experiment ends or during any phase of the experiment, wherever this procedure is recommended and/or whenever serious suffering occurs. If the animal does not undergo euthanasia after the intervention it may leave the vivarium and be assigned to suitable people or to the animal protection bodies, duly legalized [ 1 ].

Euthanasia procedures must result in instant loss of consciousness which leads to respiratory or cardiac arrest as well as to complete brain function impairment. Another important aspect of this procedure is calm handling of the animal while taking it out of its enclosure, to reduce its distress, suffering, anxiety and fear. In every research project, the study design should include the details of the appropriate endpoints of these experimental animals, and also the methods that will be adopted. It is important to determine the appropriate method of euthanasia for the animal being used. Another important point is that, after completing the euthanasia procedure, the animal’s death should be absolutely confirmed before discarding their bodies [ 87 , 89 ].

Relevance of animal experimentations and possible alternatives

Relevance of animal experiments and their adverse effects on human health.

One important concern is whether human diseases, when inflicted on experimental animals, adequately mimic the progressions of the disease and the treatment responses observed in humans. Several research articles have made comparisons between human and animal data, and indicated that the results of animals’ research could not always be reliably replicated in clinical research among humans. The latest systematic reviews about the treatment of different clinical conditions including neurology, vascular diseases and others, have established that the results of animal studies cannot properly predict human outcomes [ 59 , 90 ].

At present, the reliability of animal experiments for extrapolation to human health is questionable. Harmful effects may occur in humans because of misleading results from research conducted on animals. For instance, during the late fifties, a sedative drug, thalidomide, was prescribed for pregnant women, but some of the women using that drug gave birth to babies lacking limbs or with foreshortened limbs, a condition called phocomelia. When thalidomide had been tested on almost all animal models such as rats, mice, rabbits, dogs, cats, hamsters, armadillos, ferrets, swine, guinea pig, etc., this teratogenic effect was observed only occasionally [ 91 ]. Similarly, in 2006, the compound TGN 1412 was designed as an immunomodulatory drug, but when it was injected into six human volunteer, serious adverse reactions were observed resulting from a deadly cytokine storm that in turn led to disastrous systemic organ failure. TGN 1412 had been tested successfully in rats, mice, rabbits, and non-human primates [ 92 ]. Moreover, Bailey (2008) reported 90 HIV vaccines that had successful trial results in animals but which failed in human beings [ 93 ]. Moreover, in Parkinson disease, many therapeutic options that have shown promising results in rats and non-human primate models have proved harmful in humans. Hence, to analyze the relevance of animal research to human health, the efficacy of animal experimentation should be examined systematically [ 94 , 95 ]. At the same time, the development of hyperoxaluria and renal failure (up to dialysis) after ileal-jejunal bypass was unexpected because this procedure was not preliminarily evaluated on an animal model [ 96 ].

Several factors play a role in the extrapolation of animal-derived data to humans, such as environmental conditions and physiological parameters related to stress, age of the experimental animals, etc. These factors could switch on or off genes in the animal models that are specific to species and/or strains. All these observations challenge the reliability and suitability of animal experimentation as well as its objectives with respect to human health [ 76 , 92 ].

ALTERNATIVE TO ANIMAL EXPERIMENTATION/DEVELOPMENT OF NEW PRODUCTS AND TECHNIQUES TO AVOID ANIMAL SACRIFICE IN RESEARCH

Certainly, in vivo animal experimentation has significantly contributed to the development of biological and biomedical research. However it has the limitations of strict ethical issues and high production cost. Some scientists consider animal testing an ineffective and immoral practice and therefore prefer alternative techniques to be used instead of animal experimentation. These alternative methods involve in vitro experiments and ex vivo models like cell and tissue cultures, use of plants and vegetables, non-invasive human clinical studies, use of corpses for studies, use of microorganisms or other simpler organism like shrimps and water flea larvae, physicochemical techniques, educational software, computer simulations, mathematical models and nanotechnology [ 97 ]. These methods and techniques are cost-effective and could efficiently replace animal models. They could therefore, contribute to animal welfare and to the development of new therapies that can identify the therapeutics and related complications at an early stage [ 1 ].

The National Research Council (UK) suggested a shift from the animal models toward computational models, as well as high-content and high-throughput in vitro methods. Their reports highlighted that these alternative methods could produce predictive data more affordably, accurately and quickly than the traditional in vivo or experimental animal methods [ 98 ].

Increasingly, scientists and the review boards have to assess whether addressing a research question using the applied techniques of advanced genetics, molecular, computational and cell biology, and biochemistry could be used to replace animal experiments [ 59 ]. It must be remembered that each alternative method must be first validated and then registered in dedicated databases.

An additional relevant concern is how precisely animal data can mirror relevant epigenetic changes and human genetic variability. Langley and his colleagues have highlighted some of the examples of existing and some emerging non-animal based research methods in the advanced fields of neurology, orthodontics, infectious diseases, immunology, endocrine, pulmonology, obstetrics, metabolism and cardiology [ 99 ].

IN SILICO SIMULATIONS AND INFORMATICS

Several computer models have been built to study cardiovascular risk and atherosclerotic plaque build-up, to model human metabolism, to evaluate drug toxicity and to address other questions that were previously approached by testing in animals [ 100 ].

Computer simulations can potentially decrease the number of experiments required for a research project, however simulations cannot completely replace laboratory experiments. Unfortunately, not all the principles regulating biological systems are known, and computer simulation provide only an estimation of possible effects due to the limitations of computer models in comparison with complex human tissues. However, simulation and bio-informatics are now considered essential in all fields of science for their efficiency in using the existing knowledge for further experimental designs [ 76 ].

At present, biological macromolecules are regularly simulated at various levels of detail, to predict their response and behavior under certain physical conditions, chemical exposures and stimulations. Computational and bioinformatic simulations have significantly reduced the number of animals sacrificed during drug discovery by short listing potential candidate molecules for a drug. Likewise, computer simulations have decreased the number of animal experiments required in other areas of biological science by efficiently using the existing knowledge. Moreover, the development of high definition 3D computer models for anatomy with enhanced level of detail, it may make it possible to reduce or eliminate the need for animal dissection during teaching [ 101 , 102 ].

3D CELL-CULTURE MODELS AND ORGANS-ON-CHIPS

In the current scenario of rapid advancement in the life sciences, certain tissue models can be built using 3D cell culture technology. Indeed, there are some organs on micro-scale chip models used for mimicking the human body environment. 3D models of multiple organ systems such as heart, liver, skin, muscle, testis, brain, gut, bone marrow, lungs and kidney, in addition to individual organs, have been created in microfluidic channels, re-creating the physiological chemical and physical microenvironments of the body [ 103 ]. These emerging techniques, such as the biomedical/biological microelectromechanical system (Bio-MEMS) or lab-on-a-chip (LOC) and micro total analysis systems (lTAS) will, in the future, be a useful substitute for animal experimentation in commercial laboratories in the biotechnology, environmental safety, chemistry and pharmaceutical industries. For 3D cell culture modeling, cells are grown in 3D spheroids or aggregates with the help of a scaffold or matrix, or sometimes using a scaffold-free method. The 3D cell culture modeling conditions can be altered to add proteins and other factors that are found in a tumor microenvironment, for example, or in particular tissues. These matrices contain extracellular matrix components such as proteins, glycoconjugates and glycosaminoglycans that allow for cell communication, cell to cell contact and the activation of signaling pathways in such a way that the morphological and functional differentiation of these cells can accurately mimic their environment in vivo . This methodology, in time, will bridge the gap between in vivo and in vitro drug screening, decreasing the utilization of animal models during research [ 104 ].

ALTERNATIVES TO MICROBIAL CULTURE MEDIA AND SERUM-FREE ANIMAL CELL CULTURES

There are moves to reduce the use of animal derived products in many areas of biotechnology. Microbial culture media peptones are mostly made by the proteolysis of farmed animal meat. However, nowadays, various suppliers provide peptones extracted from yeast and plants. Although the costs of these plant-extracted peptones are the same as those of animal peptones, plant peptones are more environmentally favorable since less plant material and water are required for them to grow, compared with the food grain and fodder needed for cattle that are slaughtered for animal peptone production [ 105 ].

Human cell culture is often carried out in a medium that contains fetal calf serum, the production of which involves animal (cow) sacrifice or suffering. In fact, living pregnant cows are used and their fetuses removed to harvest the serum from the fetal blood. Fetal calf serum is used because it is a natural medium rich in all the required nutrients and significantly increases the chances of successful cell growth in culture. Scientists are striving to identify the factors and nutrients required for the growth of various types of cells, with a view to eliminating the use of calf serum. At present, most cell lines could be cultured in a chemically-synthesized medium without using animal products. Furthermore, data from chemically-synthesized media experiments may have better reproducibility than those using animal serum media, since the composition of animal serum does change from batch to batch on the basis of animals’ gender, age, health and genetic background [ 76 ].

ALTERNATIVES TO ANIMAL-DERIVED ANTIBODIES

Animal friendly affinity reagents may act as an alternative to antibodies produced, thereby removing the need for animal immunization. Typically, these antibodies are obtained in vitro by yeast, phage or ribosome display. In a recent review, a comparative analysis between animal friendly affinity reagents and animal derived-antibodies showed that the affinity reagents have superior quality, are relatively less time consuming, have more reproducibility and are more reliable and are cost-effective [ 106 , 107 ].

Conclusions

Animal experimentation led to great advancement in biological and biomedical sciences and contributed to the discovery of many drugs and treatment options. However, such experimentation may cause harm, pain and distress to the animals involved. Therefore, to perform animal experimentations, certain ethical rules and laws must be strictly followed and there should be proper justification for using animals in research projects. Furthermore, during animal experimentation the 4 Rs principles of reduction, refinement, replacement and responsibility must be followed by the researchers. Moreover, before beginning a research project, experiments should be thoroughly planned and well-designed, and should avoid unnecessary use of animals. The reliability and reproducibility of animal experiments should also be considered. Whenever possible, alternative methods to animal experimentation should be adopted, such as in vitro experimentation, cadaveric studies, and computer simulations.

While much progress has been made on reducing animal experimentation there is a need for greater awareness of alternatives to animal experiments among scientists and easier access to advanced modeling technologies. Greater research is needed to define a roadmap that will lead to the elimination of all unnecessary animal experimentation and provide a framework for adoption of reliable alternative methodologies in biomedical research.

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano in the framework of LP 15/2020 (dgp 3174/2021).

Conflicts of interest statement

Authors declare no conflict of interest.

Author's contributions

MB: study conception, editing and critical revision of the manuscript; AKK, DP, GH, RB, Paul S, Peter S, RM, BF, NC, SM, LL, DD, GMT, MCE, MD, SM, Daniele M, GB, AD, KD, MCM, TB, MS, STC, Donald M, AM, AB, KLH, MK, LS, LL, GF: literature search, editing and critical revision of the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

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How To Write An Animal Testing Essay?

Table of Contents

Animal testing is a long-standing problem, which bothers people all around the world. It is also known as in vivo testing or animal research; it’s the use of animals in experiments to explore the reactions of their bodies and biological systems to various irritants.

From the beginning of the scientific revolution, this method was often used in medical and biological studies. However, nowadays it is also used in commercial facilities and pharmaceutical companies to test cosmetics, hygiene products, and foods before selling them to people.

Animal testing essay approaches

Basically, there are two approaches to writing essays on animal testing.

You may choose a topic that considers the historical context, as methods of testing and other aspects that don’t require your personal point of view. When writing such an essay, remember that you need to be unprejudiced and objective, to explore the topic as a scientist.

The other approach is an argumentative essay. There’s also a vast quantity of sides to choose from but you’ll need to express your point of view or compose the topic for an essay sticking to it. Here you will have to be persuasive to convince the reader in your rightness.

Position against animal testing essay

If you are an opponent to animal testing, you may want to choose the topic, that would highlight the negative sides of the issue. Here are some arguments against animal testing for you to start off:

• Experiments on animals are inhumane and cause animal suffering.
• There are different alternatives for testing, that can replace animals.
• People differ from animals. Thus, the results of animal testing might be unjustified.
• Some products that have passed animal testing were dangerous to people.
• Alternative methods of research are cheaper than animal testing.
• Lots of failed experiments are useless to expend of animals’ lives.
• Religion induces us to be merciful to all living creatures including animals.

Position pro-animal testing essay

In case you support the idea of animal testing and decided to prove that it is needed in the modern world, you’d need to be very persuasive. There are thousands of people who won’t share your opinion.

Below you can find some ideas to support animal testing:

• Animal testing produced dozens of treatments and saved millions of people’s lives.
• There still are no equivalent alternatives to test a fully functioning organism.
• Some animals are similar to the human organism.
• Animal testing prevents dangerous and harmful experiments on people.
• There’s legislation which aims to prevent animals’ mistreatment.
• The majority of scientists endorse the practice of animal testing.
• Some of the products must be first tested on animals to prove humans can use them.
• Religion establishes human domination.
• Animals’ lives is a small price for scientific and medical progress.

Ideas on animal testing essay structure

Each essay has to be well-structured and animal testing essay is not an exception. As a rule, an essay consists of three parts: introduction, main body, and conclusion.

In the introduction , you present the problem and the topic of your essay. Provide your reader with some definitions and background information for a better understanding.

In the main body , you represent all the information, ideas and statements for your topic. Don’t forget to structure the text and break it into paragraphs, this will make your essay more readable. Ideally, you write each idea or statement in the new paragraph.

The conclusion is put at the very end when everything is already said. Here you make an inference of the whole essay without adding any new information.

Here is an example of the outline for a pro-animal testing research paper:

Introduction

• Hook sentence.
• Thesis statement.
• Transition to Main Body.
• History of the animal testing practice.
• The role of legislation in preventing mistreatment.
• Great discoveries, which would be impossible without animal testing.
• Why alternatives to animal testing won’t work?
• Transition to Conclusion.
• Unexpected twist or a final argument.
• Food for thought.

Writing an animal testing essay introduction

To write a successful introduction, and the whole essay as well, you need to be aware of the topic. So first of all, you need to do a lot of research work for a good start.

Searching for some animal testing essay examples might appear to be a great idea. Once you gain some background you will surely get to know what is needed to be said.

Here are some hints on what to include in your introduction:

• Definition of animal testing.
• Statistics.
• Description of the problem.
• Experts’ point of view.
• Society’s position.
• Some catchy facts.
• Thesis statement – the main idea of your essay.

Best animal testing essay titles

Lack of ideas for a good title? Here’s a list of topics for the essay on animal testing.

Choose any. Each of them is catchy.

• Pros and cons of animal testing.
• Animal testing in cosmetics.
• Great discoveries of animal testing.
• Alternatives to animal testing.
• Animal testing in your country.
• The ethical side of animal testing.
• Positive and negative outcomes of animal testing.
• Horrors of animal testing.
• Future of animal testing.
• Animal testing and animal rights.

Crafting an animal testing essay hook

When it comes to writing, the introduction is almost a half of success. If you manage to write a good beginning, the reader will surely have a more positive vision of the whole work.

… How to grab the reader’s attention and compose a catchy beginning?

These two basic techniques are often used by speakers, but can also be applied when writing:

• Rhetorical question. Make the reader think, ask something ambiguous or nippy, like: “Is morality valuable when it comes to medical progress and saving lives?” or “Would you kill an animal with your own hands?”
• Shocking fact. Something like: “More than 100 million animals are abused and killed in the US yearly” or “88% of Nobel Prizes in Physiology and Medicine involved animal testing.

All in all, animal testing is newsworthy and up to date topic to discover and highlight. There are many aspects of the problem to explore and what is important – you can’t be right or wrong with your point of view.

This coin has two sides and it is for you to decide which one to stick to. Remember that your essay will benefit from honesty with yourself and the reader.

Want to have a perfect essay on animal testing, but have no inspiration to write it? Our writers do! Order your essay in 1 click and save evening to yourself!

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Should Animals be Used in Research: Argumentative Essay

Should animals be used in research? This argumentative essay aims to answer the question. It focuses on pros and cons of animal testing for scientific and medical goals.

Introduction

• The Arguments

Works Cited

All over the world, animal activists and institutions have argued whether or not research should be used on animals or should be outlawed. Philosophers believe that experiments on animals are not morally justified because they cause pain or harm the animals. A group of these philosophers believe that other alternatives are available, thus they claim that because we have other alternatives, the use of animals in research should be outlawed.

Should Animals Be Used in Research? The Arguments

In my opinion, I support the line of argument that animals should not be used in research. Since the discovery of knowing through science (research), the use of animals in research has elicited mixed reactions among different scholars. Philosophers are against the idea citing the availability of other options for toxicological tests on animals and the harsh treatments the scientists have accorded these animals in the medical tests. Unless scientists discover other ways of testing medicines, I think tests on animals are unethical.

Scientists use these creatures to validate a theory and then revise or change their theories depending on the new facts or information gained from every test performed. Animal rights lobby groups believe that animals are used for no reasons in these experiments as the animals endure pain inflicted on them during these tests (Singer 2). They tend to overlook the fact that animals have moral existence, social and religious values. Thousands of animals on this planet contribute largely to the aesthetic appeal of the land.

On the other hand, scientists only see the positive contributions of animal tests to the medical field and ignore the side effects of the tests on the animals’ lives. They overlook the idea that animals are hurt and thus suffer tremendously.

To them the impact of the research on the lives of their families and friends by coming up with vaccines and drugs is the inspiration. Research on animals should be banned because it inflicts pain, harms the culprits and morally it is unjustified. Has man ever wondered whether or not animals feel similar pain that humans feel? (Singer 2).

Human beings know very well that they themselves feel pain. For example, you will know that a metal rod is hot by touching it with bare hands. It is believed that pain is mental; in other words it cannot be seen. We feel pain and we realize that other creatures also feel pain from observations like jerking away from an event or even yelling.

Since the reactions are the same as those of man, philosophers say that animals feel similar pain just like humans. Animal activists reaffirm that the major undoing of tests involving animals is the manner in which the animals are treated arguing that anesthesia for suppressing the pain is never used.

However, as many people are opposed to the use of animals in research, many lives have been saved every year due to their death. I think that instead of refuting that taking away the life of a rat is unethical, harms the animal; I believe it is a bold step in improving the welfare of millions of people for thousands of years to come. Tests on animals are the most common toxicological tests used by scientists; the findings help to better lives for hundreds of people across the universe (Fox 12).

Fox, Michael A. The Case for Animal Experimentation. California: University of California Press, 1986.

Singer, Peter. Animal Liberation. New York: Random House, 1975.

• Chicago (A-D)
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IvyPanda. (2023, October 30). Should Animals be Used in Research: Argumentative Essay. https://ivypanda.com/essays/should-animals-be-used-in-research/

"Should Animals be Used in Research: Argumentative Essay." IvyPanda , 30 Oct. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/should-animals-be-used-in-research/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Should Animals be Used in Research: Argumentative Essay'. 30 October.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Should Animals be Used in Research: Argumentative Essay." October 30, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/should-animals-be-used-in-research/.

1. IvyPanda . "Should Animals be Used in Research: Argumentative Essay." October 30, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/should-animals-be-used-in-research/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Should Animals be Used in Research: Argumentative Essay." October 30, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/should-animals-be-used-in-research/.

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Animal testing debate: letter to Andrew Griffith

Letter from the Chair of the Animals in Science Committee to the Minister for Science, Research and Innovation about the animal testing debate in Parliament.

Animal testing debate: letter to Andrew Griffith (accessible)

PDF , 92.4 KB , 2 pages

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Professor David Main, Chair of the Animals in Science Committee, wrote to Andrew Griffith, Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, on 9 April 2024.

He gave the committee’s support for the announcements in the animal testing debate in the House of Commons on 19 February 2024. They included a plan to reduce reliance on the use of animals in science.

He offered the committee’s expertise to implement the announcements.

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