Human rights and animal welfare

Students' Beliefs about Animal Researchers as a Function of Researchers' Sex

Students responded to one of four written descriptions of professors who varied by sex and type of research (human or animal). A 2 (sex of target) × 2 (type of research) × 2 (sex of participant) analysis of variance was computed for an agentic scale and a communal scale. These scales assessed, respectively, orientation toward tasks and orientation toward relationships. The researchers of human behavior were rated as more communal than the animal researchers. The female researchers were rated as more agentic than the male researchers. No interaction between research area and sex of target was found. A content analysis of open-ended responses to the four stimulus descriptions supported the finding that the human researcher was rated as more communal than the animal researcher. This study suggests that students' beliefs about professors are influenced by the professors' area of research. The discussion addresses the implications of this finding for students' evaluations of animal researchers as instructors.

Choice by rats for enriched versus standard home cages: Plastic pipes, wood platforms, wood chips, and paper towels as enrichment items

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether simple additions to the home cages of rats made those cages preferable to standard housing arrangements. Results indicated that most rats preferred cages with wood platforms, wood chips, and paper towels to otherwise identical cages without these items. Wood chips were not, however, practical with the cages used in the present study. Plastic pipes caused no problems but were not preferred by most animals. Both wood platforms and paper towels created no problems and appeared to be useful as enrichment items. The latter were preferred to the former in a direct comparison.

Model of recovery of locomotor ability after sensorimotor cortex injury in rats

Animal models of locomotor recovery after brain injury provide tools for understanding the basic neurobiological processes that may underlie recovery after stroke in humans. Measurement of the ability of rats to traverse a narrow elevated beam has proven to be a particularly useful test of locomotor function. Repeated measurement of this behavior over time provides a simple method for quantifying the rate and degree of a rat's locomotor recovery after sensorimotor cortex injury and constitutes a tool for studying its mechanisms and possible treatment strategies. The model has proven particularly useful in predicting the effects of drugs on poststroke recovery in humans.

Animals in biomedical research: the undermining effect of the rhetoric of the besieged

It is correctly asserted that the intensity of the current debate over the use of animals in biomedical research is unprecedented. The extent of expressed animosity and distrust has stunned many researchers. In response, researchers have tended to take a strategic defensive posture, which involves the assertation of several abstract positions that serve to obstruct resolution of the debate. Those abstractions include the notions that the animal protection movement is trivial and purely anti-intellectual in scope, that all science is good (and some especially so), and the belief that an ethical consensus can never really be reached between the parties.

Euthanasia and persistent vegetative state individuals: the role and moral status of autonomy

This paper offers a philosophical consideration and evaluation of several different criteria of moral standing, and discusses their implications for persistent vegetative state (PVS) individuals who were once competent. It is argued that the only criterion PVS individuals meet is that of being human, which is not the best test of moral standing. Accordingly it is, in principle, morally acceptable to perform passive or active euthanasia on PVS individuals or to use their bodies for research or for organ harvest. Nevertheless, the autonomous choices made by the persons the PVS individuals used to be can still impose moral obligations. Indeed, it is argued that the capacity for autonomy is a particularly appealing criterion of moral standing, and that the implications of this standard for PVS individuals confirm that appeal.

Animal rights activism and animal welfare concerns in the academic setting: levels of activism and the perceived importance of research with animals

Past research suggests that public support for the use of animal models as means to improve the human condition is present but many individuals have expressed ambivalence. In the present study, various sectors of the academic community (students and faculty) as well as the general population, were surveyed to assess their positions on the need for, and value of animal research, the value of psychological research in which animals are employed, and the respondents' consummatory habits. The results suggested that more information needs to be provided about the role of animal experimentation, including a discussion of the benefits produced by using animals to answer psychological questions.

The laboratory animal dilemma: a solution in our backyards

Despite external pressure, psychologists have not found an acceptable alternative to laboratory animals. While a strong defense of current practices may be the best policy for some, we question the assumption that the laboratory is the only or even the best setting for much behavioral research. Millions of domestic animals kept as pets are available for onsite experiments. We report that this subject pool is accessible, cost-effective, and produces reliable behavioral data. Using pets may even increase the scientific awareness of the public, improving the atmosphere for all animal research.

Discussing animal rights and animal research in the classroom

There is growing controversy over the ethics of using animals in biomedical and behavioral research. This article reviews two prominent philosophical justifications for animal liberation and describes an exercise that facilitates class discussion of animal research issues. Students simulate participation on an institutional animal care committee and decide whether a series of hypothetical experiments will be allowed. Students reported that the exercise sharpened their awareness of this issue and of the complexity of making ethical decisions.

Laboratory animals need only humane treatment: animal "rights" may debase human rights

Arguments for animal "rights" confuse the issue of what rights are about and, in the context of the care of laboratory animals, are misleading. Only human beings have rights and they should be cherished and extended. Consideration of the welfare of animals is important, but the context is that it is for the benefit of human beings and the animals serving humanity. Scientists need to explain the worth of animal research, particularly in regard to psychological studies. They also need to expose the fallacies in the animal rightists' arguments as one of the means to help diminish the threat to science.