KARACHI:
Animals have long been used in research to improve understanding of human health and diseases. It is worth mentioning that more than 90% of the Nobel prizes in Medicine have been awarded to animal research studies. In 1901, German scientist Emil Adolf won the first noble prize in medicine for developing the diphtheria vaccine through research with a guinea pig. Since then, each year, Nobel prizes have been awarded for significant discoveries, most of the time for animal research.
In 2021, David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian were awarded a Nobel Prize for their work with mice resulting in ground-breaking discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch. People have expressed mixed views regarding animal use in medical and physiological research. Some believe that it is painful and redundant. Others are more critical and believe there should be a complete ban on animal research as it is ethically inappropriate. Scientists think otherwise and argue that restrictions on animal research will obstruct progress and the betterment of humanity.
Not all scientists involved in research in medical sciences are proficient in moral philosophy. Therefore, they must be trained in the most ethically appropriate way to perform animal research. There is a need for increased concern for the well-being of the animals used. Indeed, the use of animals is unavoidable as the cause of the well-being of humanity, and progress is highly principled. Nevertheless, excessive uneasiness needs to be avoided. Animals can neither be consented to nor safe when subjected to, for instance, the dosage of drugs. An integrated scheme of self-regulation, education, and controlling omissions must be followed. Ethical animal use shall be an indispensable feature of modern biomedical science.
Dr Intikhab Ulfat
Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2023.
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