Use of vertebrate animals in Research

Increasingly, propaganda has replaced communication between individuals on opposite sides of the controversy. Those that are against the use of animals for scientific purposes have called themselves animal rights activists. They view scientists as oblivious to the suffering of their mute subjects in their quest for recognition and research dollars. Many researchers, on the other hand, consider their critics to be hyper-emotional and anti-intellectual people who prefer kittens to human beings. Advocates on both sides accuse their opponents of being modern-day Nazis.

In reality, the moral landscape is more complex than partisans on either side are willing to admit. The claim by some activists that animal research has not resulted in significant medical advances is not substantiated. Conversely, few scientists acknowledge the sophisticated philosophical underpinnings of the animal rights movement, believing, incorrectly, that it is based solely on sentiment and misplaced anthropomorphism. Indeed, animal activists may have done

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government (Burd, 1994a, p. A29). Researchers were elated by the decision. According to Richard M. Knapp, chairman of the board of the National Association for Biomedical Research, an advocacy group for animal research that is supported by contributions from research institutions and pharmaceutical companies, the ruling by the appeals court made it clear that animal activist organizations cannot control the government's authority to oversee animal research, or interfere with the research community's responsibility for the animals in its care (Burd, 1994a, p. A29). In another ruling, a Federal Appeals Court held that the Agriculture Department did not have to monitor the way universities treat the rats, mice, and birds that they use in research. The ruling involved the Animal Welfare Act, which was passed in 1971. In setting regulations to carry out the legislation, the Agriculture Department excluded rats, mice, and birds, contending that Congress allowed the department to determine the meaning of the term "animal (Burd, 1994c, p. A29)." What this meant is that, according to this ruling, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's version of taxonomy, mice, rats, and birds did not count as animals when it comes to research. Marti
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Approximate Word count = 1891
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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