Alchemizing The Bar: An Examination of Global Ethical Considerations for Using Alternatives to Animals in Research, Testing, and Education

Authors

Lenore M. Montanaro, Roger Williams University School of Law

First Page

233

Abstract

Countries regulate scientific research in various ways. Such structures are the result of input from scientists, attorneys, physicians, advocates, and others. These schemes may also derive from outcomes of the research itself. Some countries do not incorporate or require the ethical use of an animal—or an alternative to the use of an animal—to be considered. Others do incorporate, and even require, the ethical use of animals in research. In alignment with The Three Rs—replacement, reduction, and refinement of animals used in science—technological capabilities now allow scientists to increasingly use alternatives, such as microphysiological systems, rather than animal models. This Article (1) discusses ethical codes and systems for using animals in research, testing, and education, (2) surveys whether any countries incorporate ethical considerations of the use of animals in science, and (3) describes potential ways to advance the law in alignment with The Three Rs. As such, advocates become alchemists who do more than continue to ‘raise the bar’ for animals in science; rather, they alchemize the bar, so that transformational and systemic outcomes for people and animals are realized.

Recommended Citation

Lenore M. Montanaro, Alchemizing The Bar: An Examination of Global Ethical Considerations for Using Alternatives to Animals in Research, Testing, and Education, 2 Animal L. Rev. 233 (2024).
Available at: https://lawcommons.lclark.edu/alr/vol30/iss2/6