Ethical Considerations for Animal Use in Behavioral and Neural Research

Animal models are useful in research that examines physiological mechanisms and, as such, are invaluable in developing therapies to alleviate illness and promote health. Ethical considerations are essential for proper animal use and include replacement by nonanimal models where possible, reduction in the numbers of animals used, and refinement of experimental protocols to reduce animal suffering. Choosing the optimum model depends on the long- and short-term goals of the project, and the choice of a model goes hand in hand with appropriate study design. Five key features to think about when choosing a model are as follows: model asymmetry, necessary differences, specificity to the study, model validity, and model improvement. Appropriate use of both male and female animals has also become an important issue in recent times. These considerations will assist in understanding animal model use.

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The Perception of Students on the Use of Animals in Higher Education at the Federal University of Paraná, Southern Brazil

Alternatives to Laboratory Animals ◽

10.1177/026119291204000207 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 40 (2) ◽

pp. 83-90 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Bernardo G.F. Deguchi ◽

Carla F.M. Molento ◽

Carlos E.P. de Souza

Keyword(s):

Ethical Issues ◽

Alternative Methods ◽

Learning Goals ◽

National Council ◽

Ethical Considerations ◽

Academic Fields ◽

University Courses ◽

Recent Graduates ◽

Animal Use ◽

Research And Education

The use of animals in education and research is a controversial issue that involves ethical considerations. In Brazil, Act 11,794, which was approved in 2008, established the National Council on the Control of Animal Experimentation (CONCEA) and a database of institutions that use animals for research and education (CIUCA). This legislation also set out the regulations for the use of animals. In this study, we have evaluated the ethical issues involved in the use of animals for educational purposes at the Federal University of Paraná, through a qualitative–quantitative analysis that relied on written questionnaires. Our objective was to find out the opinions of students and staff from different academic fields, and at different stages in their professional development, on the use of animals for educational purposes. The study involved 101 students and 20 lecturers (i.e. tenure-track professors and all those who teach the students) in Biology, Pharmacology, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. Approximately half of the students (45.5%) did not know the legislation that regulates the use of animals in education, and most of the lecturers believed that learning goals could not be achieved with alternative methods. Only 38.9% of the lecturers and 31.9% of the students trusted the usefulness of alternative methods. Furthermore, recent graduates were as unaware of the legislation, as were students in the first two years of their university courses. These results suggest that it is necessary to considerably expand the discussion on alternatives to animal use in the academic environment.

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Examining compliance with ethical standards for animal research: is there a need for refinement? A qualitative study from northern Europe

Laboratory Animals ◽

10.1177/0023677219841080 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 54 (2) ◽

pp. 183-191

Author(s):

Aurora Brønstad ◽

Peter Sandøe

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Study ◽

Core Values ◽

Animal Research ◽

Ethical Guidelines ◽

Ethical Considerations ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Good Science ◽

Eu Directive ◽

Northern European ◽

Animal Use

Ethical guidelines for research on animals such as the 3Rs (Replacing, Reducing, Refining) and positive harm-benefit evaluations are anchored in EU Directive 2010/63. In this qualitative study we investigated how ethical guidelines interact and/or compete with other considerations when animal research is planned. Four focus groups consisting mainly of researchers involved in animal use were conducted in four Northern European countries and findings were analysed thematically with the support of NVIVO. Practical issues and the importance of doing good science were dominant topics. Practical issues could not easily be separated from the goal of good science. Participants expressed concerns which accord with the core-values of the 3Rs, but in one group they explicitly referred to the 3Rs as a concept. Conflicts between reductions in animal numbers and the risk of creating unreliable results were addressed. They also criticized the practice of using more animals to improve statistical figures to get results published in highly ranked journals – a finding we believe is new. The main conclusion of this study is that ethical values could not easily be separated from the goal of producing good science. Whereas policy makers seem to expect researchers to explicitly take ethical considerations into account, we found that their ethical thinking is mainly manifested as an implicit part of methodology and design. We don’t see this as a problem as long as the underlying core values are implicitly respected, or promoted, in the relevant experimental practice.

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Considerations Regarding Nonhuman Primate Use in Safety Assessment of Biopharmaceuticals

International Journal of Toxicology ◽

10.1177/1091581811415875 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 30 (5) ◽

pp. 583-590 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Lorrene A. Buckley ◽

Kathryn Chapman ◽

Leigh Ann Burns-Naas ◽

Marque D. Todd ◽

Pauline L. Martin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Monoclonal Antibodies ◽

Drug Discovery ◽

Nonhuman Primate ◽

Safety Assessment ◽

Ethical Considerations ◽

Drug Discovery And Development ◽

Animal Use ◽

Alternative Approaches ◽

Human Primate ◽

Selection Of

Selection of a pharmacologically responsive species can represent a major challenge in designing nonclinical safety assessment programs for many biopharmaceuticals (eg, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs)). Frequently, the only relevant species for nonclinical testing of mAbs is the non-human primate (NHP). This situation, coupled with a rapidly increasing number of mAb drugs in development, has resulted in a significant increase in the number of NHPs used in nonclinical safety assessment. Apart from ethical considerations related to responsible animal use, there is a clear need for more efficient and innovative approaches to drug discovery and development; these factors drive the need to investigate alternative approaches and strategies for the safety assessment. This review summarizes important scientific and regulatory perspectives derived from presentations and audience discussions in an educational forum at the 2010 annual American College of Toxicology meeting regarding opportunities for employing alternative approaches to minimize NHP use in mAb drug development.

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