Animal Ethics

As some of you may or may not know, I'm studying my Bachelor of Psychology at Uni.  I started this week.  One of the subjects that I have chosen to do as an elective is Behavioural Neuroscience.  I really like the idea of this, study what makes up the brain, how the brain works, and how through the brain our behaviour stems.

This cat is being given a bionic ear, to help the deaf here again.

However, what I naiively didn't realise is that part of being a Behavioural Neuroscientist, you do testing on animals.  They will test certain behaviours etc.  One of the tests that the University is doing at the moment is with rats, they have reduced the amount of calories by 25% that they are feeding them, to see whether this reduces the amount of anxiety.  The scientists also attempted this experiement with people but because they can't completely control what a person eats and does, the experiement results varied far too much, so have found it works better in rats.

Yesterday during my lecture, we were told all about animal ethics and when it is right to do animal testing and when it is inappropriate.  For example did you know, that scientists cannot in a lab work out how much is a lethal dose of botox? So this means every single batch of botox is tested on some sort of animal to see what is a lethal dose.  This just confirmed to me that I will NEVER have botox.  I wont let an animal die for my vanity.

But here is my dilemma, if the animal testing was done to save humanities life is it ok?  They tested chemotherapy on animals, insulin, organ donation, vaccines and medications.  Is this ok? I don't know.  I'm really stuck on how I feel about the whole thing.

I heard a story yesterday that we can now give our pet cats kidney transplants.  What happens is, the owner would adopt a cat from a shelter and they transplant a healthy kidney from that cat, to the pet cat who needs it.  Then the family must keep both cats.  Is this right? I mean they are saving a cat that would probably have been put to sleep anyway.  This way it has a great chance of life, just with one less kidney.  So techniqually you have saved two cats.

I know that groups like PETA hate any sort of animal cruelty, in fact that would say we shouldn't even own pets at all.  That we should let all animals be wild.  That we shouldn't eat meat, farm or any of that.  That there should be no domestic animals at all.

However, welfare groups such as RSPCA are accepting of animal testing for medical purposes.  They oppose testing of beauty products etc. But for medical purposes such as putting electrodes in an animals brain and watching it they are ok with.

So what do you think?

One of the things that was said in the lecture yesterday, is at the university of Latrobe at least, before they can do any animal testing, they have a group that meets, this group is made up of various people, one is a vet who doesn't work for the university who will listen to what the scientists want to do before they say whether this will be visable for the animal.  One is an animal welfare person, so they might be from RSPCA or another such welfare group, who will agree or disagree depending on whether this is not considered cruelty.  There will be lawyers, there will be the scientists, there will be a person who is in charge of taking care of the animals care normally and some other people.  Before they do any form of testing they all sit together and have a meeting.  They discuss whether it is possible to replace, reduce or refine.  This means they can replace the animals with other form of lab testing either using cells, or artifical materials.  They can reduce the number of animals they will need to use or they can refine the experiment to being the best technique that is available.  And of course there are rules of which they must adhere to, there is the Prevention to cruelty to Animals act of 1986, there is the Australian code of practice as well as for the University at least, the uni's rules.

I heard an alarming fact yesterday which said that in the US, of all the population 19% have a mental illness.  In order to help understand and medicate efficiently scientists believe the best way to do it is by testing on animals.  Do you agree?

What would your solution be? How could scientists get around using animals? Are there better test subjects?

I just don't know.

Well I will leave you with a few facts.


Studies of animals account for only 7 to 8% of all published research in Psychology
93% of all research animals were lab reared rats.
In Victoria 22 Macaques, 3 Baboons and 4 marmasets made up the other 7%

So what do you think?

Love you all

Sam
xxx