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The Importance Of Animals In Biomedical And Behavioral Research
A Statement from the Public Health Service
Virtually every medical achievement of the last century has depended directly or indirectly on
research with animals. The knowledge
gained from animal research has extended human life and made it healthier through many
significant
achievements, as illustrated by the following examples: vaccines to prevent poliomyelitis and
other
communicable diseases; surgical procedures to replace diseased heart valves; corneal transplants
to
restore normal vision; new medicines to control high blood pressure and reduce death from
stroke; anti-
psychotic drugs to treat mental disorders; broad spectrum antibiotics to treat infections; and
chemical
agents to cure or slow childhood cancers. Of course, there are many other diseases and disorders,
such
as AIDS, many forms of cancer, common cold, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, hepatitis,
arthritis,
cystic fibrosis, and brain and spinal cord injuries--just to name a few--for which no effective
prevention,
treatment, or cure now exists.
The use of living animals remains an important way to solve a medical problem. Researchers
continually seek other models to understand the human organism, study disease processes, and
test new
therapies. In seeking more rapid and less expensive ways to obtain basic biological information
that can
be applied to human disease, scientists often study simpler organisms, such as bacteria, yeasts,
roundworms, fruit flies, squids, and fishes. Researchers have spent decades learning how to
sustain
cells, tissues, and organs from both animals and humans outside the body to understand biological
processes and develop new medical treatments. Mathematical, computer, and physical models
complement animal experimentation as well. Although computers alone cannot produce new
biological
information, they enable scientists to analyze vast amounts of data and test ideas. In the end, the
validity of the results obtained from these model systems must be verified in appropriate animal
systems
and, possibly as the final step, in clinical trials using human volunteers.
Like most people, scientists are concerned about animal well-being. Elaborate safeguards in
the
form of Federal laws have been implemented
to
ensure that institutions comply with the regulations and policies affecting the care and use of
animals
in research. Before beginning a project, all research proposals involving animals must be carefully
reviewed and approved at each research facility by an Institutional Animal Care and Use
Committee
comprised of scientists, veterinarians, and private citizens. Veterinarians trained in laboratory
animal
medicine are responsible for observing and caring for animals, providing guidance to researchers,
and
overseeing institutional animal care programs. In addition, institutions conducting animal research
are
routinely inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
and
monitored by the U.S. Public Health
Service. Many institutions
are further accredited by an independent evaluating body, the American Association for Accreditation of
Laboratory
Animal Care.
For more than a century, there have been organized groups and individuals who have
objected
to using animals in biomedical research. This opposition has increased markedly in the last two
decades. Animal activist organizations, spurred by a philosophy that there is no moral
justification for
the use of animals in research--even to save human lives--have attempted to slow or halt the work
of
scientists. Some disseminate misleading information, intimidate or harass individual scientists,
conduct
mass demonstrations, or even commit acts of vandalism or terrorism. The few health
professionals who
support the activist movement stand apart from the vast majority of the Nation's physicians, and
most
Americans readily accept the fact that animal research is necessary to achieve medical progress.
Institutions receiving support from the Public Health Service are obliged to adhere to the
highest
possible standards for the humane care and responsible use of laboratory animals. And scientists
themselves have adopted the principle: "Good Animal Care and Good Science Go Hand in
Hand."
March 1994
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