General Article What is ethical animal research? A scientist and veterinarian explain

Topic Selected: Animal Rights Book Volume: 445

What is ethical animal research? A scientist and veterinarian explain

Animal research’s benefits are clear – but public awareness of what it involves is not. Javier Pierini/DigitalVision via Getty Images
Lana Ruvolo Grasser, National Institutes of Health and Rachelle Stammen, Emory University

A proposed measure in Switzerland would have made that country the first to ban medical and scientific experimentation on animals. It failed to pass in February 2022, with only 21% of voters in favor. Yet globally, including in the United States, there is concern about whether animal research is ethical.

We are scientists who support ethical animal research that reduces suffering of humans and animals alike by helping researchers discover the causes of disease and how to treat it. One of us is a neuroscientist who studies behavioral treatments and medications for people with post-traumatic stress disorder – treatments made possible by research with dogs and rodents. The other is a veterinari...

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