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Animal Rights and Use of Animals in Biomedical Research 

Zoheb Rafique 

Lecturer  

Department of Biochemistry, 

Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences (LUMHS),  

Jamshoro, Pakistan 

Email: dr_zohaib@hotmail.com 

 

Abstract: Experiments on animals have always been considered as necessary for scientific research, both 

fundamental and applied. In addition to scientific suitability criteria, this practice also must be justified from a moral 

point of view. This concern arises from the demand of our civilization that a certain moral value be recognized to 

animals. In this paper it is discussed in detail that how animals should be handled while doing research and what are 

animal rights and their uses in biomedical research. 

Key words: animal Rights, biomedical Research 

Introduction: Questions about the way animals are treated in research became more prominent in recent decades in 

a period which has been particularly favorable for freedom of research and science which promotes technological and 

scientific progress. At the start of the twenty-first century, it is obvious to the scientific community, as well as to the 

public, that science often raises some ethical questions. In the areas of animal-based research, teaching and testing, 

these include questions about the justification for studies involving distress and pain, which are detrimental to animal 

welfare. Determining the behavioral and social needs of an animal and deciding how these needs can best be met 

are further concerns, arising from the of behavioral biology and animal welfare science, which should inform the 

debate about the use of animals. The research into and testing of almost every major medical treatment has involved 

the use of animals at different occasions. However, for as long as animals have been used to better understand the 

functioning of the animal and human body, the thoughtful researchers and general public have also concerned 

themselves with issues arising from that use. In particular, the question of distress and pain has been the main focus 

of concern
1
. In this paper, I will discuss the animal rights and the use of animals in biomedical research. This paper 

will focus on the way the animals should be handled ethically during the biomedical research. 

Discussion: Animal use as research subjects in medical investigations is widely condemned on two grounds. First, 

because it wrongly imposes on sentient creatures much avoidable sufferings. Second, because it wrongly violates the 

rights of animals. Neither of the above argument is sound. The first relies on a mistaken calculation of consequences; 

the second relies on a mistaken understanding of rights. It does not follows from this, however, that we are morally 

free to do anything we please to animals certainly not. A right, properly understood, is a claim that one party may 

exercise against another. The target against whom such a claim is registered can be a single person, a community, a 

group, or all humankind. Immanuel Kant was influential in his emphasis on universal human possession of uniquely 

moral will. Humans confront choices which are purely moral. Human beings are morally autonomous and self 

legislative. Animals lack this capacity for free moral judgment. They are not capable of responding or exercising to 

mailto:dr_zohaib@hotmail.com


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moral claims
2
. This importance of a humane care and treatment of animals used for research and teaching is 

increasing and constitutes a responsibility we all share. Each time research and teaching involves animal 

participation, it is very essential that the welfare of those animals is properly considered. It places upon the 

researchers and investigators a primary responsibility to observe the professional, ethical and legal principles 

involved
3
. It is very important that the work involving animals within the research project proceeds in a way that is 

ethically acceptable. Ethically acceptable research procedures must follow legislation for animal-based research: 

respecting the minimum requirements for animal housing, use of anesthesia, treatment procedures etc. For a 

researcher concerned with ethical aspects of his activity, it is important to strive to follow the general intentions of the 

law, such as attempting to find non-animal alternatives, and trying to minimize the number of animals used etc. It is 

essential that the intended experiments involving animals be subject to an ethics discussion beforehand. It is very 

important to demonstrate the potential benefit of the experiments and that reasonable measures have been taken to 

protect the welfare of the experimental animals
4
. Every year more than 20 million animals are used in the biomedical 

research projects and from these 20 million more than 90 percent of them being rats, mice, and other rodents. From 

the other animal species, approximately 65,000 dogs, 23,000 cats, and 55,000 primates were used for research 

purposes only in the United States between the period October 1, 2003 and September 30, 2004 according to U.S. 

Department of Agriculture
5
. While not all biomedical researchers involve the use of animals, animals are essential in 

many areas. The short life span of research animals allows researchers and scientists to study them throughout the 

entire life cycle, and even through several generations-within a very short period of time. Using laboratory animals in 

scientific studies allows researchers precise control over the animal’s environment (temperature, light, ventilation) to 

ensure that animals are healthy and thus keep experimental variables to a minimum. Healthy, well cared-for, 

adequately housed animals are necessary to produce accurate research results. Following examples are animal 

contributions to research. Cats for studies of AIDS, eye and ear disorders, and the nervous system, armadillos for 

vaccine for leprosy, dogs for coronary bypass surgery; artificial heart valve insertion; pacemaker implantation; hip and 

other joint replacement surgery, chinchillas for studies on middle ear infections and hearing loss, ferrets for viral 

diseases such as influenza, fish for studies of vision, liver cancer, bacterial diseases, temperature regulation, and 

skin tumors, Guinea pigs for nutritional studies such as vitamin C deficiency, Lobsters for study of motor coordination 

diseases such as syphilis and Parkinson’s disease, mice for studies of cancer, aging, AIDS, immunology, and 

genetics; embryo transfer techniques in humans and domestic and endangered animal species, nonhuman primates 

for treatments for polio and Rh disease; studies of HIV and AIDS, cancer, heart disease, neurological disorders, and 

infectious diseases such as malaria, Opossums for studies of the central nervous system, immune system, and 

bacterial endocarditis, pigeons for study of coronary heart disease, pigs for burn treatments; development of the CAT 

Scan; human heart valve replacements, Rabbits for corneal transplant; drugs that lower blood cholesterol and help 

stop the development of hardening of the arteries; rats for studies to find treatment for paralysis caused by nerve 

damage; product safety tests; causes of some cancer; effects of nutrition on aging; understanding tissue rejection 

following transplant surgery, sheep for development of the arteriovenous shunt and testing of a device that assists 

lung functions in infants soon after birth, woodchucks for liver cancer and hepatitis B and Slugs for studies of the 

short-and long-term memory
6
. The rationale for using animal models in biomedical research is scientific and animal 

models are likely to remain necessary until science develops other alternative models and systems that are equally 

robust and sound. The use of animal models in science, and biomedical research, is accepted by majority of lay 

people and scientists alike as being necessary to the advancement of useful knowledge that brings about relief from 

suffering. Some outside of biomedical scientific community, however, have a clear understanding of why these animal 



Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics 2015; 6(1):11-14 

 

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models are important. This is very unfortunate. Man and animals are symbiotic in many ways and not just on an 

ideological level. Arguments regarding whether biomedical science can advance without using animals are frequently 

mooted and makes as much sense as questioning if clinical trials are necessary before any new medical therapies 

are allowed to be widely used in the general population. While the use of animals has decreased in the last two 

decades, advances in genetic research and the demands of research to counter bio-terrorism are expected to 

reverse this trend and lead to an increase in use of animals. At the heart of it, all is the health and safety of humans
7
. 

Since Islam is predominant culture and religion in our country and according to Islamic rules, life is divine present to 

all creatures, then, no one have authority to interfere animal’s life without their permission. Animals are part of this 

truth of life; hence, we can use them only with respect for their status and dignity that has been created. Animals 

should always be used in an ethical manner, because they are creatures which have pain and distress senses. 

According to Islam, humans should know their limitations and positions in nature; therefore we are not allowed to use 

animals in the way we desire. Our religious rules obligate us to avoid causing distress and suffering to animals, 

therefore, we should try to protect animal wellbeing in research, teaching and testing
8
. Although the main principles of 

“Western” bioethics (autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice) are acceptable according to Islam, their 

interpretation can differ. For example, there is a limit on autonomy, because sometimes the interest of the society is 

preferred to individual rights. In Muslim countries, in various discussions on medical ethics, we have a tendency to 

look towards religion. Islam is believed to be able to fully restore the harmony between science and religion. The 

principles of bioethics and solutions to ethical problems are derived from the Islamic legal rulings. The main principles 

of Islamic ethics are the respect for human dignity, eternity of life and life after death, benevolence to fellow human 

beings, altruism, seeking perfection and eternal salvation. There is wide overlap between Islamic bioethics, law and 

the Islamic rulings, so that the religious principles such as the eternity of life could be very important in the ethical 

decision making in Islamic setting
 9

 .The strong position implies that animals possess the right to respectful 

treatments, and this entails that they not be treated only as a means to some other end. They end in themselves, and 

this intrinsic worth makes it wrong to use animals as subject in research. The weak position on the animal rights 

would maintain that even for humans the right to life is not absolute, that rights frequently conflict, and that in 

circumstances where human rights conflict with animal rights, a judgment will be necessary. Therefore, an animal’s 

right creates a duty, which to some degree restricts our behavior. Since a person’s life is more important than any 

animal, the use of animals for medical purpose is morally acceptable. This position can be compressed to a claim that 

animals have some rights, without duties, and may justifiably be sacrificed for a variety of human purposes 
10

. 

Conclusion: Although in this article I have focused on animal use in research, other areas also raise ethical 

concerns about animal rights and animal welfare. These include the use of animals as companions, in zoos, in 

agriculture, education, for entertainment or sport, and the treatment of wildlife and endangered species
11

. We should 

encourage others to become informed about the vital issue of using animals in biomedical research. As we begin to 

understand the facts more fully, we will agree that the judicious use of animals in research offers the greatest hope of 

improving the lives of both animals and humans. 

References: 

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745. 



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2. Cohen C. Use of Animals in Biomedical Research. New Engl J Med 1985; 315(14):865-870. 

3. Vieuille C, Aubert A.. The human-animal relationship in higher scientific education and its ethical implications. 

Animal Bioethics: Principles and Teaching Methods. Binnenwerk bioethics. 2005; 173-182. 

4. Olsson A, Sandoe P. Guidelines for ethical conduct with animals-comparative genomics of man and pig.  

5. U.S. Department of Agriculture: www.aphis.usda.gov/ac 

6. Use of Animals in Biomedical Research. Understanding the Issues. American Association for laboratory Animal 

Science. www.aalas.org. [Retrieved] 

7. Chow P. The Rationale for the use of Animal Models in Biomedical Research 2007; Chapter 1.1:2-10 

8.  Mobasher et al. Proposing a National Ethical Framework for Animal Research in Iran. Iranian J Publ Health 2008; 

37(1):39-46. 

9. Zahedi F, Larijani B. National bioethical legislation and guidelines for Biomedical research in the Islamic Republic 

of Iran. Bulletin World Health Organ 2008; 86:630-634. 

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xenotransplantation. Turkiye Klinikleri. J Med Ethics. 2004; 12:242-247. 

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Bioethics Literature. The Joseph and Rose Kennedy Institute of Ethics. Reprint issued March 2001; 1-19. 

 

Conflict of interest: Author declares no conflict of interest. 

 

 




