Animal research plays a crucial role in scientists' understanding of diseases and in the development of effective medical treatments.
Research animals provide scientists with complex living systems consisting of cells, tissues and organs. Animal models can interact and react to stimuli, giving researchers a picture of a compound moving through a living system and an idea of how that stimuli might react in a human being. Animals are biologically similar to humans in many ways and they are vulnerable to over 200 of the same health problems. This makes them an effective model for researchers to study.
The majority of research animals are used in experiments focused on disease treatment and prevention, and the treatment of injuries. Laboratory animals are also used in basic medical research, breeding other research animals and diagnosis.
Rats and mice account for about 95 percent of all animals used in research. Most of the remaining research animals are rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, farm animals, fish and insects. Combined, less than one percent of the remaining research animals are cats, dogs and non-human primates. The overwhelming majority of research animals are specifically bred for laboratories. The RDS - Research Defence Society - has an online guide to "An A-Z of Laboratory Animals" that shows the many different species that are used and some of the contributions each has made to medical progress.
Before conducting research on animals, scientists make absolutely certain animals are needed for their experiments. For more than 50 years, scientists have relied on the "3Rs": refinement of tests so animal distress or pain is minimal, reduction of the number of animals used in one particular study, and the replacement, whenever possible, of animal experiments with non-animal experiments.
Many organizations are devoted to advancing the “3Rs” and promoting alternatives in animal research, including:
Whether we are aware of it or not, we all benefit from animal-based research every day. Here are just a few examples of the medical care that animal research helped make possible:
Anesthesia
Antibiotics
Vaccines
Vitamins
Allergy treatments
Click here for details about a number of medical advances where animal research has made a difference.
Animals also benefit from animal-based research. Pets, livestock, wildlife and laboratory animals all benefit from treatments and medicines first tested in animal models. Research involving animal models has produced vaccines for animals against rabies, distemper, feline leukemia, tetanus, parvo virus, infectious hepatitis, and anthrax. CAT scans, MRIs, ultrasound, pacemakers, artificial joints and organ transplants are technologies common to human and veterinary medicine.
