Animal Testing
 Previously we looked
at the use of animals
in spaceflight to
further our
understanding of the
space environment.
 The use of animals in
scientific testing has
always been, and will
continue to be a
controversial subject.
Animal Testing
 While controversial, it is
an unavoidable fact that
animal research has
allowed the
development of
medicines and vaccines,
surgical techniques and
advanced scientific
understanding in many
areas.
Animal Testing
 It is estimated that
between 50 and
100 million
animals are used
in research each
year.
 Some are purpose
bred for testing
but many are still
caught in the wild.
Measuring Pain and Suffering in
Animal Testing
 The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines a painful
procedure as one that would “reasonably be expected
to cause more than slight or momentary pain or
distress in a human being to which the procedure was
applied”
 Do you think this is a valid way to measure suffering in
animal tests?
Measuring Pain and Suffering in
Animal Testing
 In the UK experiments are
classified as mild, moderate or
substantial in the amount of
suffering they cause an animal.
 A fourth category of
unclassified is used when the
animal is anaesthetized but
killed before regaining
consciousness.
Measuring Pain and Suffering in
Animal Testing
 In December 2001 the breakdown of experimental
licenses was:
 39% mild
 55% moderate
 2% substantial
 4% unclassified
 Does this seem a reasonable breakdown to you?
Is Animal Testing Morally Right?
 The argument between pro-animal testing parties and
opponents to animal testing hinges on whether it is
ethical.
Is Animal Testing Morally Right?
 Advocates for animal testing
say:
 Human life has greater
intrinsic value than animal life
 Legislation protects all lab
animals from cruelty or
mistreatment
 Millions of animals are killed
every year for food, is medical
research not a more worthy
death
 Few animals feel pain and are
killed before they suffer
Is Animal Testing Morally Right?
 Opponents to animal
testing say:
 Animals have as much
right to live as humans
 Strict controls have not
prevented some animals
being abused, though such
instances are rare
 Deaths for research are
unnecessary
 Animals suffer while they
are locked up and how do
we know when they do and
don’t feel pain
The Three R’s
 The guiding principles for the use of animals in
research are the three R’s:
 Replacement: Use alternative, non-animal methods to
achieve the same scientific aim
 Reduction: Use statistical methods so that a smaller
number of animals are required
 Refinement: Improve the experiments so that animals
do not suffer
Ethical Dilemmas
 British law requires that any new medicinal drug to be
used on humans must undergo a substantial testing
program including testing on at least two different
species of live mammal.
 One of which must be a large non-rodent.
 This of course means that any company wanting to
release a medical drug must, by law, undertake animal
testing regardless of how they fell about it ethically.
Ethical Dilemmas
 Animal researchers say it
will be impossible to
eliminate all animal tests
but scientists are always
working on ways to
minimise the suffering of
animals and to ensure as few
animals as possible will be
required.
Case Study: Laika
 Laika, a mixed bred dog
‘recruited’ into the Soviet
space program after being
found on the streets of
Moscow.
 Laika’s mission would make
her the first creature to orbit
the Earth in an attempt to
study the prolonged effect of
weightlessness on a living
being.
Case Study: Laika
 Laika was 3 years old
when she was launched
on the Sputnik 2
spacecraft on
November 3rd, 1957.
 She was secured in a
special pressurised
capsule 3 days before
launch and provided
with a high nutrition
gel for food and water.
Case Study: Laika
 Laika experienced minimal ill effects during launch
but her heart rate did rise to three times its resting
rate and she appeared to be quite agitated, eventually
calming down.
 It appeared that weightlessness alone did not cause
major changes to the vital physiological functions of a
living creature.
 This was good news for human spaceflight.
Case Study: Laika
 Cabin temperature begun
rapidly climbing to
unacceptably high levels.
 Temperature control inside the
capsule was failing.
 Between 5 and 7 hours into the
flight telemetry showed that
there were no signs of life
within the capsule.
 Laika had died from stress and
overheating, undoubtedly a
painful and distressing death.
Case Study: Laika
 As the world began to learn of the second Sputnik, no word
of Laika’s death was released.
 The Sputnik 2 capsule that carried Laika into orbit was not
retrievable and it had been intended that Laika would die
in orbit.
 But at the time the world believed that Laika may be
recovered.
Case Study: Laika
 Protests from animal protection groups began around
the world.
 On November 5th a newspaper article in the New York
Times included a report from an unnamed Russian
scientists that the dog could not live much longer.
 Other articles talked about the importance of the
information being learned by sending an animal into
space.
Case Study: Laika
 On November 7th Soviet scientists were still claiming
that Laika was in good health when she had in fact
been dead for four days.
 Eventually the truth of the dog’s fate emerged and on
November 11th the Soviets confirmed that Laika was
dead.
 The exact cause of Laika’s death remained a mystery
for decades.
Case Study: Laika
 The truth was not confirmed until 2002 when Russian
scientists confirmed that Laika had died between 5
and 7 hours after launch due to heat and stress.
 Russian scientist Oleg Gazenko who worked on the
Soviet Space Program stated that “the more time
passes, the more I’m sorry about it. We did not learn
enough to justify the death of dog.”
Case Study: Laika
 Laika became a hero to the
Soviet people and captured
the imagination of the
world.
 Her flight immediately
proved the near term
capability for human
spaceflight.
Case Study: Laika
 The question of whether the sacrifice of Laika was
justified for the progress of space technology is still
debateable in the context of ethics of animal research.
 Could the flight have been postponed until recovery of
the capsule was possible?
 The political climate and the tensions between the
United States and the Soviet Union during the “Space
Race” meant that the ethical considerations of the
mission were not properly considered.
Case Study Discussion
 Do you think the mission was
justified?
 How could the experiment
have been improved?
 Was the outcome of putting
the first man in space a valid
aim for sacrificing Laika?
 Did the fact that the Russian
scientists covered up Laika’s
death make the experiment
more unethical?