Animals Are Valuable in Behavioral Research

Animals and Research 2

Animals are Valuable in Behavioral Research.

From the dawn of time, when the first human killed an animal for food, or drove it from a fruit patch so that he could eat instead, there has been competition with animals for basic resources. Likewise, over the ages, humans have contemplated their relationship with animals. Ancestral societies worshipped the animals they used recognizing that the lives they took fueled their own lives. Further introspection on humanity's place in the world resulted in the development of codes of morality and ethics and subsequently the first modern religions. While biblical views of animals are primarily those of utility rather than of moral value, early scholars argued that animals should be treated kindly because animal cruelty represented a flawed morality and was ultimately detrimental to the moral development of humans. This view that humans may ultimately be judged based on their treatment of other lives exists to this day, and for many, is a strong argument for stewardship toward animals.

Interestingly, advances in biology that began in the 1800's have provided some of the strongest arguments for imbuing animals with an enhanced moral value. By recognizing that the nervous systems of all vertebrate animals are very similar, it is assumed that activities that will cause a human pain or distress will likewise cause pain or distress to other animals. It is for this reason that current animal use regulations require

the use of analgesics, anesthetics and sedatives for any procedures on animals that may cause more than momentary pain or distress.

Animals and Research 3

Animal experimentation is an essential component of biomedical and behavioral research, a critical part of efforts to prevent, cure, and treat a vast range of ailments. As in the past, investigators are using animals to learn about the most widespread diseases of the age, including heart disease and cancer, as well as to gain basic knowledge in genetics, physiology, and other life sciences. Animals are also needed to combat new diseases, of which AIDS is currently the most prominent example. As Miller (1985) pointed out in a trenchant defense of animal research in psychology, behavioral