Ethics and Experiments on Animals

• The ethical assessments related to the use of animals in research are wide-ranging.
• It is generally thought that it may be necessary to use laboratory animals in some cases in order to create improvements for people, animals or the environment.
• At the same time, the general opinion is that animals have a moral status, and that our treatment of them should be subject to ethical considerations. Such views are reflected in the following positions:

i. Animals have an intrinsic value which must be respected.

ii. Animals are sentient creatures with the capacity to feel pain, and the interests of animals must therefore be taken into consideration.

iii. Our treatment of animals, including the use of animals in research, is an expression of our attitudes and influences us as moral actors.