Ethics in animal research

Question 1

2 types of arguments in ethics of animal research

Answer 1

Utilitarian argument
Animal rights argument

Question 2

Utilitarian argument

Answer 2

If the experimentation to be done results in greater good, then it is okay. To determine this, a cost-benefit analysis is carried out to see if the research can be ethically justified.

Also, this argument believes that if the research can be done in any other way and yield the same results, then animals should not be used.

Question 3

Animal rights argument

Answer 3

They argue that the utilitarian argument is an example of speciesism (being human justifies humans having more rights than non-human animals).

Therefore, they believe that all animals have rights and using animals for any research is inappropriate.

Question 4

3 Rs of ethical animal research

Answer 4

Replace the use of animals with alternative techniques, or just replace them entirely

Reduce the number of animals used and collected information from to a minimum.

Refine the way experiments are carried out so they ensure that animals suffer as little as possible.

Question 5

Great Ape Research Ban and counter argument

Answer 5

Many countries have established that apes are very cognitively similar to humans, therefore experimentation with them has been banned.

However, some researchers argue that since the chimp genome is so close to the human genome, it is essential that they maintain the right to use them in research.

Question 6

Harlow (1958)

Answer 6

Aim: See the effect of isolation on infant monkeys.

Procedure: Immediately after birth, he would detach the newborn monkey from its mother and keep it isolated for a long duration (3 months to one 1 year) and then reintroduce it into an environment with other monkeys.

Results:
The isolated monkey, once reconnected with other monkeys, showed very abnormal behavior, including rocking compulsively and self-mutilation. They also scared of the other monkeys and attacked them, and were unable to socialize.

Link to ethics:
Monkeys that were in isolation the longest never recovered, leading some to argue that these studies were unnecessarily cruel. However, some still think it was important research since it looked at understanding the role of attachment in mental health and therefore justified.