The Morality Of Animal Research

Animal experiments are widely used in the process of developing new medicines and in testing the safety of a certain product. It is normal for an experimenter working in the medical research institution to use animals as their test subjects for experiments and research. This is because of the procedure they are following. Animals tend to share a number of physiological genetic similarities with a human that is why it can be helpful to the research. Therefore they are subjected to modify or confirm certain data about the drug used before proceeding for the human trials. It is stated in the Physician Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) website that “the primary purpose of medical research is to promote human health… and animal research

The moral character of the researcher is not important, it is the ethical approach to the experiment which makes the animal experimentation morally acceptable.

On the contrary of promoting animal rights, the utilitarian instincts of most people take over their judgment in this issue. Utilitarian is an ethical philosophy in which the happiness of the greatest number of people in the society is considered the greatest good. In this philosophy, an action is morally right if its consequences lead to happiness. Researcher’s decision to use animal research has undergone a series of procedure. They exert their best efforts to find a replacement as much as possible before resenting to animal use. The three Rs are a set of principles that scientists are encouraged to follow in order to reduce the impact of research on animals. These three R’s are: Reduction, Refinement and

It requires that the proposals for research involving the use of animals must be fully assessed in terms of any harm to the animals. This involves detailed examination of the particular procedures and experiments, and the numbers and types of animal used. These are then weighed against the potential benefits of the project. This cost–benefit analysis is almost unique to UK animal research legislation; only German law has a similar requirement. This new policy ensures that the use of animals is permissible as long as it is approved by the necessary agencies and standards of animal welfare and care. By this law, this protects the animals from abuse from illegal animal testing. Clinical testing were filtered and sort out after the law was enforced to minimized the use of animals. Through this laws and procedures, animal testing is acquiring more positive feedback since the officials are doing something to minimized and protect them. Considering it morally, is a judgment where we have to think of the greater good and the benefits it may give the humans. Knowing that the humans are also doing something to uphold and minimize their casualties to considering the animal