animal ethics

Question 1

home office regulations

Answer 1

must have a licence from the home office
- premises must be licenced for animal research
- every individual involved in research must be licensed
- labotary animals must be produced from ‘ high quality suppliers’ which are specifically bred for lab procedures
- those undergone general aesthetics cannot be used for more procedures
- care for animals when not being used
- suitable accomdation, food, water, space to maintain wellbeing
- reduce potential distress

Question 2

BPS guidelines for working with animals

Answer 2

Housing and care between tests animals should be housed with enough space to move freely with sufficient food and water for its health and well-being is biological and ecological needs aspects of their natural environment are important such as warmth room and exercise. Human contact might be appropriate for particular species. If an animal is a social being it should be put in a social setting with companions.

Anasesthisia + euthanasia animals should be protected from pain if they undergo surgical procedure and given time to recover. They should be euthanized if suffering from enduring pain or unable to maintain a high standard of life

ethics and leglislation if animals are confined, home come out or in pain suffering should be minimised and researchers should justify that and and alternatives should be considered. Costs to the animals must be justified by scientific benefits of the work

number of animals only the minimum number of animals required to produce valid and reliable results should be used study should be carefully planned with good experimental design and reliable measures of behaviour to achieve this

isolation and crowding when caging animals the researchers should consider ways in which to reduce potential distress overcrowding should be avoided and social species should be caged with others of its kind

reward and deprivation when plumbing desperation studies should consider the normal feeding or drinking patterns of animals depending on the species and age ETC. When studying reinforcement it may be necessary to deprive an animal of food offering the animal preferred food as a reward/ reinforcement may be an alternative method

Question 3

3 R’s

Answer 3

REPLACE- animals with alternatives whenever possible for example animals with no signs of self awareness or intelligence

REDUCE- the number of animals used

REFINING- procedures to minimise suffering

Question 4

scientific procedures act

Answer 4

• avoid / minimise discomfort
• discuss research with colleges and H.O inspectors
• do the ends justify the mean
• consider alternatives

Question 5

batesons decision cube

Answer 5

BPS states permission will not be granted unless the researcher can justify the costs to the animals in relation to the likely benefits of the research
Bateson’s decision cube
* The degree of animal suffering: ethical research minimises this
* The benefits of the findings/ certainty of benefits : ethical research will have clear benefits
* The quality of the research: ethical research will be highly valid and reliable

Question 6

practical issues

Answer 6

• Cost: the cost of buying lab animals from a Home Office approved supplier can be considerable. Then there is the cost of feeding them and keeping their housing at the right temperature.
• Danger: Animals can bite and scratch and even lab-raised animals can carry diseases (indeed, research animals may be deliberately infected with diseases). This can be a danger to human researchers. Connected to this is the need to keep the research area clean and the animals free from stress that would make them aggressive.
• Space: if they are to be given the space suitable to the needs of their species, so that they can maintain territory and feel secure, then much more room needs to be set aside for them.
• Supervision: animals need to be cared for continuously, so someone has to visit them, feed and water them and possibly release them and interact with them for social time.