The use of animal models in scientific and medical research has contributed to many advances in medicine, from the discovery of insulin to the development of vaccines. However, animal suffering and a growing body of scientific evidence have called into question the validity and ethics of using
animals in research. The increasing availability of recent biotechnological advancements means we no longer have to rely as heavily on animal models in treating human diseases. Scientific and medical research using animals should be phased out whenever possible because animal testing
has negative ethical implications, results are often inaccurate when related to humans, and many
other testing methods now exist.
Animal testing raises troubling ethical concerns. Animals, while sentient, do not have the capacity to fully consent to an experiment without knowing and understanding the full scope of the trial. It follows that using animals in scientific and medical research is unethical regardless of how they have advanced human medicine and scientific research. Research animals are often subject to painful procedures in which they are starved, burned, blinded or forced to have heart attacks and seizures, among many more painful procedures.
Even when animals are subjects to experiments in which they are not undergoing painful and inhumane treatment, they are often forced to live in enclosures that are too small and unnatural, which leads to stress and abnormal behaviors in the animal subjects. Given that animal testing has such troubling ethical concerns, we should focus our attention on more humane
alternatives.
Besides, results from animal testing are often unreliable in predicting results in humans. In fact, around 90% of drugs that are proven reliable in animal models fail upon going to human trials and can even lead to patient harm. Vioxx, a drug that was considered safe during animal testing, led to about 320,000 cases of heart attack, stroke and heart failure -- up to 140,000 of these were fatal. The list of drugs that lead to human harm is ever-growing as new drugs undergoing animal testing continue to give unreliable results. Given that results from animal testing are unreliable in predicting results in humans and often lead to human harm, more reliable forms of testing should be used.
Fortunately, such forms of testing are already being developed and implemented in scientific research. One of the many new methods that has replaced animal models is organs-on-a-chip. These human cells placed in grooves on disks can replicate the mechanical and biochemical environments of human organs. One study found that liver organ-on-a-chip was able to correctly identify 87% of drugs toxic to human livers -- all of which failed to be detected by animal models.
Another method involves using a patient's stem cells to create three-dimensional organ-specific tissues called organoids. One major benefit to organoids is that they contain a patient's genetic information, meaning researchers could find the best drug to treat even that specific patient.
Given that many alternatives to animal models exist, we should look to use one of these alternatives whenever possible.
Phasing out animal models in research is both an ethical imperative and a scientific advancement. Due to ethical concerns around animal suffering, along with the high failure rates of translating animal results to human trials, we should phase out the use of animals in research whenever possible. Alternative methods like organ-on-a-chip and organoids offer more accurate and humane options for studying and treating human diseases. Although animal models have contributed heavily to so many scientific and medical advancements up until now, scientifically valid and ethically sound alternative methods are the future of science and medicine.