The Ethics and Limitations of Animal Research

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The moral status of animals is an issue of much debate in Science. According to The Royal Society, the oldest scientific academy nowadays, it would have been impossible for science and medicine to develop so without animal research (“The Use of Non-Human Animals in Research”, 2004). Nevertheless, do the human medical benefits really justify the animal suffering in animal research? If so, what should are the possible considerations and limitations related to the matter? It appears to be a challenge to find common ground concerning the above questions. This paper will first present the current guidelines of animal research, and what is being done to help preserve the suffering and health animals as much as possible. In order to have a full insight on the matter, it is also needed to present the main methods of animal research. Scientists have used animals in many research projects or operations. Not every animal experiment carries the risk of physical or mental stress to the animal. The purpose is to eventually build on the existing instruments, and identify the concern of the moral status of animals as and additional tool to evaluate the appropriate limitations of animal research.

Types of Animal Research

The range of applied animal research varies from simple observational studies, up to drug testing or dissections. Therefore, it is important to differentiate between the circumstantial procedures that are carried on animal research. Considering the above, it will be easier to understand the pivotal objections about animal experimentation and how they can vary from situation to situation. This differentiation will help to set the limitations of animal research and identify the most problematic issues. Saying that animal res...

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...e?. Southern Journal Of Philosophy, 46(2), 181-198.
Gruen, L. (2010, September 13). The Moral Status of Animals. In Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy . Retrieved November 1, 2013
Regan, T. (1997). The Rights of Humans and Other Animals. Ethics And Behavior, 7(2), 103-111.
Rowan, A. N. (1997, February). The Benefits and Ethics of Animal Research. In Indiana University. Retrieved November 1, 2013
Ryan, T. (2007). Creatures Like Us?: A Relational Approach to the Moral Status of Animals. Animals Today, 15(1), 21.
Snowdon, C. T. (n.d.). Significance of Animal Behavior Research. In California State University . Retrieved November 1, 2013
The Use of Non-human Animals in Research . (2004, February 27). In The Royal Society . Retrieved November 1, 2013
UK Parliament . (2002). Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations . In Parliament.uk . Retrieved November 1, 2013

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