6 • Alternatives to Animal Use in Research, Testing, and Education 
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 
At one end of a broad spectrum of ethical con- 
cerns about animal use is the belief that humans 
may use animals in any way they wish, without 
regard for the animals’ suffering. At the other ex- 
treme is the notion — epitomized by the slogan "ani- 
mals are people, too”— that each animal has the 
right not to be used for any purpose that does not 
benefit it. Each view is anchored in a school of phi- 
losophical thought, and people considering this is- 
sue can choose from a variety of arguable posi- 
tions (see ch. 4). 
Prominent within the Western philosophic and 
religious tradition is the view that humans have 
the right to use animals for the benefit of human- 
kind. This view is predicated on the assumption 
that human beings have special intrinsic value and 
thus may use natural animate and inanimate ob- 
jects, including animals, for purposes that will en- 
hance the quality of human life. Yet this tradition 
suggests that because animals are intelligent and 
sentient beings, they should be treated in a hu- 
mane manner. Current policies and trends within 
the scientific community have reinforced this con- 
viction by advocating that pain and suffering be 
minimized when animals are used in research, test- 
ing, or education. 
Advocates of what generally is called animal wel- 
fare frequently question the objectives of animal 
use, as well as the means. They point out that ani- 
mals can experience pain, distress, and pleasure. 
Drawing on the utilitarian doctrine of providing 
the greatest good for the greatest number, some 
animal welfare advocates weigh animal interests 
against human interests. In this view, it might be 
permissible to use animals in research to find a 
cure for a fatal human disease, but it would be 
unjust to subject animals to pain to develop a prod- 
uct with purely cosmetic value. 
Some animal rights advocates carry this concern 
a step further and do not balance human and ani- 
mal rights. They generally invoke the principle of 
inalienable individual rights. They believe that ani- 
mal use is unjustified unless it has the potential 
to benefit the particular animal being used. Ani- 
mal rights advocates refer to the denial of animal 
rights as a form of "speciesism,” a moral breach 
analogous to racism or sexism. Animals, by this 
reasoning, have a right not to be exploited by 
people. 
People throughout the spectrum find common 
ground in the principle of humane treatment, 
but they fail to agree on how this principle should 
be applied. Society does not apply the principle 
of humane treatment equally to all animals. A cat 
may evoke more sympathy than a frog, for exam- 
ple, because the cat is a companion species and 
possesses apparently greater neurological sophis- 
tication than a frog, endowing it with both favored 
status and a familiarity that suggests to humans 
that they can interpret its behavior. Even within 
a species, all individuals are not treated consist- 
ently. Pet rabbits in the home and pest rabbits in 
the garden, like human friends and strangers, are 
treated differently. 
The improvements in public health and 
safety made possible through the use of ani- 
mals in research and testing are well known. 
But these questions remain: Do these advances 
justify animal use? How much of the improve- 
ments were actually dependent on the use of 
animals? Debate on these and other questions is 
bound to continue, but most parties agree that con- 
sideration of replacing, reducing, and refining the 
use of animals is desirable. 
ALTERNATIVES IN RESEARCH 
In research, scientists often explore un- 
charted territory in search of unpredictable 
events, a process that inherently involves un- 
certainty, missteps, and serendipity. Some bio- 
logical research requires — and in the foresee- 
able future will continue to require — the use 
of live animals if the study of the complex in- 
teractions of the cells, tissues, and organs that 
make up an organism is to continue. Knowledge 
thus gained is applied to improving the health and 
