Comment & Debate
“The use of animals in research”. Royal Society. Jan 28th, 2002 – “The Council of the Royal Society, the UK national academy of science, today (28 January 2002) publishes a joint statement about the use of animals in research.
The statement points out that everybody has benefited immensely from scientific research involving animals and that virtually every medical achievement in the past century has depended directly or indirectly from this type of work. Nonetheless, researchers should seek, where possible, to avoid the use of animals and must advance sound scientific arguments for their use, explaining in proposals for research why no realistic alternative exists.”
“The use of animals in research”. Royal Society. Jan 28th, 2002 – “We have all benefited immensely from scientific research involving animals. From antibiotics and insulin to blood transfusions and treatments for cancer or HIV, virtually every medical achievement in the past century has depended directly or indirectly on research on animals. The same is true for veterinary medicine. Modern biology, with all its contributions to the well-being of society, is heavily dependent on research on animals. Along with the great majority of the scientific community, the Royal Society considers that the benefits provide the justification for the research that led to them. At the same time, the Society also recognises that special ethical considerations are involved and that animal research must be undertaken only with the greatest care.”
Libbie Reed. “The Case Against Animal Testing”. Helium – “It is extremely unlikely that any one of us has not benefited in some way from animal testing. Most of us have used painkillers for the headache that we couldn’t tolerate; some of us regularly take medication for an ailment that would otherwise deteriorate; a few of us have enjoyed the benefit of undergoing surgery with anesthetic. Vaccines have been produced for small pox, measles, mumps, polio, meningitis – greatly reducing infant mortality. Cures have been developed for cancer and other diseases that used to kill us. Not to mention the over-used antibiotic without which a large percentage of the population would succumb to bacterial infection.
I defy anyone to deny that they have, at some time, been grateful for modern medicine. Maybe for a topical ointment, or the solution that cleans your contact lenses. We all benefit from animal tests and it seems impossible to imagine where the human race would be today had we refused to carry out this form of research.”
Alan Goldberg, Ph.D., director of the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing, Johns Hopkins University. – “Animal experiments have contributed greatly to the understanding, prevention and control of human illness. Animal experiments will continue to contribute greatly to the understanding and control of human illness.”[1]