Can Medical Research on Animals be Justified?

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Studies have shown time and again that animal experimenters are often wasting lives—both animal and human—and precious resources trying to infect animals with diseases that they would never normally contract. Because different species of animals vary so enormously in their reactions to toxins and diseases and in their metabolism of drugs, studies with animals are not good indicators for people. A recent issue of the British Medical Journal asked, “Where’s the evidence that animal research benefits humans?” and concluded that the results of most animal studies are “wasteful, useless and inhumane.”

One of the authors noted that there is every reason for the public to be skeptical about scientists’ claims that animal research benefits human health, and this is backed up by a recent survey that reveals that more than 80 per cent of general-practice physicians believe that animal tests are worthless and even dangerous to their patients.

It is a common misconception that most tests on animals are carried out with the aim of finding a cure for cancer, AIDS, or other devastating human diseases. Surveys clearly show that the public accepts animal experimentation only because it is believed to be necessary for medical progress. But according to some national statistics, nearly two-thirds of all animal experimentation has little or nothing to do with curing human diseases or advancing human medicine. The reality is that much of this research is little more than curiosity-driven cruelty perpetuated by today’s “publish or perish” research environment, in which scientists are recognized for the number of research papers they publish rather than the contribution that each study makes to the advancement of science or medicine.