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A

nimal

experimentation

: A

look

into

ethics

,

welfare

and

alternative

methods

R

ev

A

ssoc

M

ed

B

ras

2017; 63(11):923-928

923

EDITORIAL

Animal experimentation: A look into ethics, welfare

and alternative methods

E

xperimentação

animal

:

um

olhar

sobre

ética

,

bem

-

estar

e métodos

alternativos

M

arcos

R

assi

F

ernandes

1

*, A

line

R

ibeiro

P

edroso

2

1

MD. PhD in Health Sciences, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Goiás (FMUFG), Goiânia, GO, Brazil

2

MSc Student of the Graduate Program in Health Sciences, FMUFG, Goiânia, GO, Brazil

Study performed by the Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil

*Correspondence:

Address: Av. Azaléias, Qd. 10 Lt. 20

Aparecida de Goiânia, GO – Brazil

Postal code: 74935-187

marcosombro@ig.com.br http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.63.11.923

I

ntroduction

Since the fifth century BC, there have been reports of

scientific experiments involving animals, but their use

has become more frequent since the nineteenth century.

Animal welfare would then comprise only stress reduction,

animal suffering not being taken into account for many

years.

1

In 1824, the first animal protection society, the

Society for the Preservation of Cruelty to Animals, was

established in England to promote animal comfort, there-

by helping to prevent cases of cruelty.

2

In 1959, Russell and Burch described the principle of

the “3 Rs” – Replace, Reduce, Refine – for research using

animals. This principle recommended substituting con-

scious living vertebrates with phylogenetically more prim-

itive life forms, such as the more degenerate metazoan

microorganisms and endoparasites, or with computerized

simulations. The reduction principle advised that research

and procedures should be carried out with as few animals

as possible, while the refinement principle suggested that

the techniques used should decrease their pain and distress

at all stages of the study.

2,3

In Brazil, Law No. 11,794/08, also known as the Arou-

ca Law, regulates the use of animals in scientific experi-

ments. Chapter IV of the Arouca Law describes the con-

ditions for breeding and using these animals in teaching

and scientific research, such as the use of sedation, anal-

gesia or anesthesia in any experiment that may cause pain

or distress. It also recommends performing euthanasia

whenever the experiment is terminated or at any of its

phases when there is intense suffering of the animal.

4

The Arouca Law created Brazil’s National Council for

the Control of Animal Experimentation (Concea, Portu-

guese acronym for Conselho Nacional de Controle de

Experimentação Animal), assigned to draw up the guide-

lines and enforce compliance with them regarding the

humane use of animals in scientific research. It also set

up the Ethics Commissions on the Use of Animals (CEUAs,

Portuguese acronym for Comissões de Ética no Uso de

Animais) as an indispensable condition for the accredi-

tation of teaching and research institutions that use an-

imals in scientific experiments.

4

The purpose of using animals in teaching is to illus-

trate or carry out procedures that are already known, un-

like their use in research, which is aimed at contributing

to developing new drugs or treatments, in addition to

clarifying certain biological phenomena.

5

Many advances in health sciences were possible thanks

to scientific experiments conducted on animals. Howev-

er, actions from non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

towards protecting and preserving animals are still fre-

quent. Some scientists argue that the predictive value of

this type of research is often low and may lead to biased

or imprecise results, which would result in unnecessary

suffering to the animals and clinically irrelevant data.

6

It can therefore be stated that the practice of animal

experimentation is considered a widespread activity in

the scientific environment. Nevertheless, it has provoked

public reactions, and this practice has been intensely

debated both in society and academic institutions.

5,6

Our study was aimed at undertaking a narrative review

on ethics and welfare in animal experimentation, as well

as discussing alternative methods to its use.

C

hoosing

the

animal model

Meticulous research should be undertaken for project

planning prior to initiating any experiment in order to

avoid unnecessary use of living animals.

3

There are reasons

for their use in several studies, such as those investigating