Dario L. Ringach, PhD, MSc, Professor of Neurobiology and Psychology at the University of California at Los Angeles, stated in his article titled "The Use of Nonhuman Animals in Biomedical Research," published in the Oct. 2011 issue of the American Journal of the Medical Sciences:
"The contributions of animal research to medical science and human health are undeniable... When the majority of scientists see the work as scientifically justified, and so do the many professional medical and scientific organizations, the expert views cannot be simply dismissed based on wild claims of ulterior motives, self-interest and conspiracy theories.
Why is the use of animals in scientific experimentation morally permissible? In my view, it is because the moral status of animals is not equal to that of humans and because opting out of the research condemns our patients (both animal and human) to suffer and die of disease. Stopping the research would be, as Darwin correctly judged, a crime against humanity. I have come to appreciate the compassion animal activists have toward animals. Paradoxically, this compassion does not seem to extent to human patients. Hopefully, animal activists will come to accept that our work is driven similarly by an honest attempt at advancing knowledge and alleviating suffering and disease in the world."
Oct. 2011 - Dario Ringach, PhD, MSc
William T. Talman, MD, Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at the University of Iowa, stated in his Dec. 7, 2012 Huffington Post article titled "Don't Have the Wool Pulled over Your Eyes":
"[C]onsider that over the past 40 years only one Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine did not depend on animal research for the fundamental discoveries that led to the prize... A quick look at the list of Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine will give you an idea not only of the vital role played by animals in biomedical research, but also the impact that research has had on humankind...
Sometimes those who seek to outlaw use of animals in research argue that testing new treatments should be done on humans, not animals. Really! Are they ready to volunteer? Even if they were, or even if some were coerced to do so (say prisoners or terminally ill patients), would we really want to move our society in that direction?...
Do not think that the only value coming from studies utilizing animals is development of cures or testing of potential cures. In fact, studying living creatures gives the scientist an opportunity to learn how living systems work. The new knowledge often expands our understanding of human physiology...
It is important to realize that studies in animals are not just done for, and do not just lead to, treatments in humans. Indeed, treatments for other animals also arise from such studies. Consider, for example, that paralyzed dogs have regained their ability to walk as a result of research conducted in rodents and dogs."
Dec. 7, 2012 - William T. Talman, MD
The Foundation for Biomedical Research (FBR) stated in its article titled "Benefits of Biomedical Research," available on the FBR website (accessed Oct. 24, 2013):
"From the discovery of antibiotics, analgesics, anti-depressants, and anesthetics, to the successful development of organ transplants, bypass surgery, heart catheterization, and joint replacement, practically every present-day protocol for the prevention, control, and cure of disease is based on knowledge attained through research with laboratory animals...
Animal research has also paid incalculable benefits to animals. It has resulted in many remarkable lifesaving and life-extending treatments for cats, dogs, farm animals, wildlife, and endangered species. Pacemakers, artificial joints, organ transplants, and freedom from arthritic pain are just a few of the breakthroughs made in veterinary medicine thanks to animal research. Dogs, cats, sheep, and cattle are also living longer and healthier lives thanks to vaccines for rabies, distemper, parvo virus, hepatitis, anthrax, tetanus, and feline leukemia. New treatments for glaucoma, heart disease, cancer, hip dysplasia, and traumatic injuries are saving, extending, and enhancing the lives of beloved pets while advanced reproductive techniques are helping to preserve and protect threatened and endangered species."
Oct. 24, 2013 - Foundation for Biomedical Research (FBR)
Laurie Pycroft, founder of Pro-Test (UK), stated in a June 2011 debate titled "Is Animal Testing Necessary to Advance Medical Research?," posted on the New Internationalist website:
"Without the ability to use animals in their research, scientists’ efforts would be massively hampered, not only in the direct development of new treatments, but also in the fundamental research which underpins all biomedical knowledge. For example, it was Alan Lloyd Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley’s work on the nerves of squid that elucidated the basis of nervous transmission; and it was John C Eccles’ work on cats’ spinal cords that first incontrovertibly demonstrated the nature of the synapse, earning him a share of the 1963 Nobel in Physiology, along with Hodgkin and Huxley. Without their work on animals, we would know far less about the workings of our own nervous systems and how to treat them...
[R]esearchers have devised many routes of minimizing inter-species variation, such as the use of transgenic animals – genetically altered to replicate human physiology more closely. This has additional benefits, including shorter generation-span, allowing scientists to perform experiments which simply would not be possible using humans (even ignoring ethical concerns)...
Claiming that microfluidics and microdosing can analyze drug effects on a full living system is absurd. How can a fluid-based chip replicate the most basic heart, let alone a human one? Microdosing can be useful for studying uptake mechanisms of a drug, but gives extremely limited information on its efficacy at treating a condition. 'Alternatives' are already widely used in research, but expecting them to replace animal tests in the near future is hugely naïve."
June 2011 - Laurie Pycroft
The American Heart Association stated in its "Public Policy Agenda 2010-14," available at heart.org (accessed Oct. 29, 2013):
"Animal research has improved the health and welfare of animals and humans. The decline in death rates in the United States from heart disease and stroke since the 1960s is due to lifestyle changes and new methods of treatment and prevention, many of which are based on animal research."
Oct. 29, 2013 - American Heart Association
Americans for Medical Progress (AMP) stated in its article titled "Animal Research," posted on the AMP website (accessed Oct. 24, 2013):
"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."
Oct. 24, 2013 - Americans for Medical Progress (AMP)
The American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) stated in its "Animal Research FAQ," posted on the AALAS website (accessed Oct. 23, 2013):
"The use of animals in research is a privilege that must be carefully guarded to assure human and animal relief from the specter of disease and suffering. To ignore human and animal suffering is irresponsible and unethical. Nearly every major medical advance of the 20th century has depended largely on research with animals. Our best hope for developing preventions, treatments and cures for diseases such as Alzheimer’s, AIDS and cancer will also involve biomedical research using animals. In fact, research on animals is in many cases an obligation. According to the Nuremburg Code, drawn up after World War II as a result of Nazi atrocities, any experiments on humans 'should be designed and based on the results of animal experimentation.'... The Declaration of Helsinki, adopted in 1964 by the 18th World Medical Assembly and revised in 1975, also states that medical research on human subjects 'should be based on adequately performed laboratory and animal experimentation.'"
Oct. 23, 2013 - American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS)
Tom Holder, founder of Speaking of Research, stated in his Jan. 14, 2013 article titled "Animal Research Is an Ethical and Vital Tool to Fight Disease," posted on the Harvard Law Petrie-Flom Center blog "Bill of Health":
"In the US alone there are over 95 million prescriptions every year for asthma medications, primarily inhalers. So what can over 25 million American asthma sufferers thank for making their lives manageable? The guinea pigs and frogs which allowed scientists to gain the underlying understanding about how chemical nerve transmitters helped to control the muscles in the airways, as well as create reliever inhalers with a long duration of action.
This is just one example of a long list of medical achievements made possible by animal research which include insulin (dogs and rabbits), polio vaccine (monkeys), anaesthetics (rabbits), blood transfusion (monkeys, dogs), antibiotics to cure tuberculosis (guinea pigs), asthma treatment (frogs and guinea pigs), meningitis vaccine (mice), deep brain stimulation (monkeys), penicillin (mice)...
In a country where we eat 9 billion chickens and 150 million cattle, pigs and sheep every year, 25 million (approx.) animals (96% is estimated to be mice, rats, birds and fish) seems a small price to pay fo