Animals in Research

Animals are responsible for a lot more than the companionship provided by our pets, or the protein on our plates. Police forces, search and rescue companies, airport and security personnel as well as the hearing and visually impaired rely every day on working animals. Production animals play a major role in bringing us the protein and dairy products so vital to our health and well-being. We live healthy and productive lives because we have been spared from debilitating childhood diseases like smallpox, diptheria and polio due to vaccine immunizations. This is all a result of the contributions of animals through production, research, testing and teaching.

In order for scientists to make advancements in either human or animal medicine, there is a fundamental need for animal research. Nothing replaces the intricate balance of a living system. Computer models, cell and tissue cultures are a reliable, complementary source of data, but all forms of advanced technologies have limitations. Researchers continue to discover ways to curb the number of animals necessary for research and for the most part use a designated species for specific experimental purposes. For example, the Canadian Council of Animal Care (CCAC) reported that almost 77% of the animals used for research in 2001 were rats, mice or fish.1 The animals used in this research helped scientists advance towards new discoveries ranging from improved animal nutrition to cures for cancer and AIDS.

Benefits of Animal Research

Health Canada is responsible for ensuring that Canadians are protected from any potential hazards in a product. Manufacturers of food products, pharmaceutical and medical devices, importers of personal care products, pesticides, household goods, cosmetics and any other chemicals are legally and ethically obligated to ensure that their product is safe. In order to meet these obligations, the product often has to be tested on animals using internationally agreed protocols. Once an ingredient or formula has been tested and proven safe initially, it rarely has to be tested on animals again by subsequent manufacturers.

Improvements in animal health products, vaccines, nutrition, housing, surgical techniques, pain management, training and welfare are all a result of animal use for scientific purpose. Any new animal pharmaceutical must be tested on animals to ensure it is safe for both the animal receiving the product and the human administrator. Veterinary students, over the course of their training, work first with artificial animals and move to live specimens only in their more senior courses. University professors in animal science and biology programs have developed new educational tools using advanced computer technology to replace animal models in anatomy labs. Any time animals are used in educational, research or testing situations, guidelines developed by the Canadian Council of Animal Care (CCAC) should be followed.

As responsible people, we all want to ensure that animals are not abused. Animals used in science or for research, teaching and testing must be given the best care possible, with full assurance of humane, responsible and respectful treatment. The Canadian Council of Animal Care oversees the ethical use and optimal care of animals for scientific purposes in Canadian universities, government and private laboratories. The CCAC Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals states:

a. “The use of animals in research, teaching, and testing is acceptable only if it promises to contribute to understanding of fundamental biological principles, or to the development of knowledge that can reasonably be expected to benefit humans or animals…”

b. “Expert opinion must attest to the potential value of studies with animals.”2

The CCAC guidelines require that in order to ensure that teaching facilities, labs and industry are treating animals humanely, institutional Animal Care Committees (ACCs) be established to monitor the standards of care applied to the research animals. ACCs monitor the animal housing, feeding, cleanliness, ventilation and medical needs of the animals. They ensure that appropriate anesthesia or analgesic drugs are applied if at all possible in the case of potentially painful procedures. They review and approve research protocols, require that researchers justify their need for animals, assist them in selecting the most appropriate species and aim for the fewest number of animals possible while still answering a specific question.

Animal research is responsible for virtually every medical advancement in the past two centuries.3 As we learn more about the metabolical balance in living systems, the need for animal testing decreases. Until then, we must continue to rely on animal testing to save the lives of both animals and humans.

Printed: April 2004

1 Canadian Council of Animal Care, Resource January 2004. www.ccac.ca

2 Appendix XV-A, CCAC Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals, Vol. 1, 2nd Edn., 1993) www.ccac.ca/english/gui_pol/guides/english/v1_93/appen/APPXV.HTM

3 Foundation for Biomedical Research, “The Proud Achievements of Animal Research and the Consequences of Halting It.” 2001.