In 1780, Jeremy Bentham, an English Philosopher, first initiated the arguments of ethics in the vicinity of protection and treatment against animal by stating that animals should be treated equally as humans and they should not be neglected because they can not speak nor express their emotions (1). In 1859, Darwin's theory on evolution placed human and animals on the same physical and emotional continuum. From late 19th century till now, a number of animal rights advocates have presented various arguments against animal uses in biomedical research. In my opinion, using animals in the discovery of scientific knowledge is not only subject to the prosperity of mankind but also that of all species on earth. In this essay, the cost and benefits of using animals in scientific research will be addressed and ethical considerations will be evaluated.
One of the strongest grounds of using animals in scientific research is the values of research toward animals and human beings. In the perspective of human health, many diseases such as small pox virus that our forefathers significantly suffered from have now been eradicated or controlled with the aid of biomedical research on animals. In addition, artificial hearts (2) and lungs (3) invented and tested through calves and sheep will save cardiovascular disease patients, and surgical techniques such as transplantation shed light on the production of artificial organs, which can save high-risk patients in the nearest future.
Biomedical research is not only aimed at the promoting the wellness of mankind. The knowledge obtained from animal research can be applied to the phylum of animals not limited to saving lives of mankind. Researches on blood clotting factors and brain signaling systems on mice and primates are certainly beneficial to improve the human health conditions, but developed drugs in these animals can be adapted to saving the lives of themselves and other companion animals such as dogs and cats.
