Should animals be used in research

The use of animals in scientific and medical research has been a subject to heated debate for many years. The ethical assessments related to the use of animals in research are wide-ranging. Some people believes that animal experimentation is cruel, unethical and unnecessary, regardless of its purpose or benefit. On the other hand, some people believes that removing animals completely from the lab would impede our understanding of health and disease and consequently affect the development of new and vital treatments. Some diseases, such as asthma and cystic fibrosis, involve very complex physiological process that can only be studied in a whole, living animal. Although some times these studies do reduce the quality of life of these animals, thorough regulations are in place to ensure that they are carried out in a humane way. To help minimise the harm animals, researchers are required to follow a set of principles, ‘The Three Rs’ – Replace, Reduce and Refine. The use of these ‘Three Rs' is crucial to continuously reduce the number and suffering animals in research. Furthermore, a good regulatory regime can help to reduce further the number of animals used. Therefore, we support a healthy and continued debate on the use of animals in research.