F A C T v s . M y t h

FACT

vs. Myth

THE ESSENTIAL NEED FOR ANIMALS IN MEDICAL RESEARCH

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Thanks to recentmedical researchbreakthroughs,scientists are closer

than ever to finding new

preventions, therapies,

and cures for a myriad

of diseases shared by

humans and animals.

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Animals play an amazing role in our lives.Whether they’re assisting in search and rescueoperations, working with police and fire investigators to solve a crime, or living in an educational setting,animals make our world safer, healthier, and happier.

Many people form deeply satisfying, joyful relationshipswith their companion animals and often consider themfamily members. The visually and hearing impaired, aswell as those living with epilepsy, look to animals forinvaluable assistance with daily living. Chronic carefacilities increasingly rely on animals to provide lovingcompanionship for the sick and the lonely. A growingnumber of employers even welcome dogs, cats, andrabbits into the workplace because they believe theanimals enhance employee performance and morale.

Like service animals, lab animals also play a heroic andvitally important role in medical progress. That’s becauseresearch is the foundation for all medical science andlab animals are the foundation of that research.

Thanks to recent medical research breakthroughs,scientists are closer than ever to finding newpreventions, therapies, and cures for a myriad ofdiseases shared by humans and animals.

Genomics, stem cell research, therapeutic cloning, andbiotechnology all offer tremendous hope for the futureof health and healing. Advances in surgical techniquesand procedures, such as organ transplantation, as well asdevelopment of remarkable new drugs and medicaldevices hold great promise for eliminating infectiousdiseases like AIDS and hepatitis, for treating and curingdeadly diseases like cancer, and for re-growing damagedspinal cord nerves to reverse paralysis.

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Medical progress, for human health and animal health,requires lab animal research because there is nocomplete replacement for the whole living system. Inrecent years, a number of non-animal procedures havebeen developed for certain types of testing, and thatnumber continues to grow.

Indeed, whether they are studying human health oranimal health, scientists place a high priority on “TheThree Rs” — reduction, replacement, and refinement.Here in the United States, our scientific and medicalresearch communities are committed to supporting thedevelopment of techniques that promote humaneanimal use by:

Still, it isn’t always easy to reconcile our love and appreciation for animals and the essential need for research. That's why we must separate the myths from the facts of animal research.

Reducing the number of animals neededin any given study;

Replacing animals with other modelswhenever possible;

Refining procedures to ensure the mosthumane treatment possible using the fewestnumber of animals to yield valid results.

Knowing that lab

animals are treated

respectfully, responsibly

and as humanely as

possible strengthens

our understanding –

as does separating

the facts from the myths.

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FACTFrom vaccines to bone marrow transplants, animals havebeen right by our side, helping medicine advance. Practicallyevery present day protocol for the prevention, control andcure of disease, and relief of pain, is based on knowledgeattained — directly or indirectly — through research withanimals. Physicians and scientists overwhelmingly agree thatanimal systems provide invaluable and irreplaceable insightsinto human systems because there are striking similaritiesbetween the genetic make-up and physiological systems ofanimals and humans.

As yet, there is no complete alternative to biomedical research with animals. Since even the mostsophisticated technology cannot mimic the complex cellularinteractions that occur in a living system, there is still anessential need to develop surgical procedures, drugs, medicaldevices, and other promising treatments with some animalsbefore there are human trials.

However, prospects are favorable for reducing the use ofanimals in the area of product development and testing. And conceivably, the day may come when animal research is no longer necessary.

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MYTHANIMALS ARE NOT NEEDED FORMEDICAL RESEARCH. MOST MEDICALBREAKTHROUGHS HAVE RESULTED FROM EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES,COMPUTER MODELS, AND CELL CULTURES.

While medical and scientific advances achieved throughresearch with animals are frequently supplemented by knowledge obtained through non-animal methods —such as computer models, mathematical models, cell and tissue cultures, clinical observation, andepidemiology — these alternative methods serve only as adjuncts to basic animal research.

FACTSince the 1970s, the numberof dogs and cats needed inanimal research has declinedby 70 percent and 71 percent,respectively. The number ofprimates needed representsless than one half of onepercent of lab animals.

That said, there is an essential need for canines in the study of lung and heart disease as their cardiovascular and respiratory systems closely match those of humans.

Nobel Prize-winning research on the immunological basis for organ rejection was conducted with dogs.

Similarly, Nobel Prize-winning research with cats has contributedenormously to our understanding of eye disorders such asstrabismus (or “cross-eye”) and amblyopia, a serious visualimpairment that can cause blindness in one or both eyes.

There is an essential need for non-human primates, mainly rhesus monkeys, in the study of arteriosclerosis, reproductivedisorders, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and infectiousdiseases such as viral hepatitis and AIDS.

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MYTHDOGS, CATS AND MONKEYS

ARE THE MOST POPULARRESEARCH ANIMALS

Ninety-five percentof all research

animals are rodents— mice and rats —

bred for this purpose.Dogs, cats, and non-

human primatestogether account forless than one percent

of the total, andtheir number hasdeclined for more

than 25 years.

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MYTHLOST OR STOLEN PETS ARE SOLD TOLABORATORIES.

FACTDespite persistent, unsubstantiated accusations to thecontrary, there is absolutely no evidence to support theclaim that dogs and cats are taken from homes andshelters and sold to laboratories. In fact, scientistsneither need nor want to do research on pets.

The Foundation for Biomedical Research recommends that all companion animals wear collars and identification tags at all times. Tags, implanted microchips, and even tattoos can help to re-unite a lost cat or dog with its family.

According to the United States Department ofAgriculture (USDA), one of several governmentagencies overseeing the use of animals in medicalresearch, 64,930 dogs and 21,578 cats were needed forbiomedical research in 2010. These numbers representless than one percent of all research animals.

FACTThe USDA has set forth federal regulations governing the care and use of animals in biomedical research that are considered more extensive than those covering human research subjects. The Animal Welfare Act sets high standards of care for research animals with regard totheir housing, feeding, cleanliness, ventilation, and medicalneeds. It also requires the use of anesthesia or analgesicdrugs for potentially painful procedures and during post-operative care.

The U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) Act requires that allinstitutions receiving research funds from the NationalInstitutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, or the Centers for Disease Control adhere to the standardsset out in the Guide for the Care and Use of LaboratoryAnimals. Under the PHS policy, institutions must followdetailed animal care recommendations and establish anInstitutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) toensure that all animals are treated responsibly and humanely.

MYTH THERE ARE NO LAWS

OR GOVERNMENTREGULATIONS TO PROTECT

RESEARCH ANIMALS.

Most importantly, research

institutions are required — by law —

to establish an Institutional Animal

Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

to oversee their work with animals.

IACUCs require researchers to

justify their need for animals,

select the most appropriate species,

and study the fewest number of

animals possible to answer a

specific question.9

FACTThere is no constituency for inhumane or irresponsibletreatment. Poor care results in unreliable research data.For results to be valid, animal subjects must be in goodcondition and appropriately healthy. Also, pain anddistress are thought to have a negative impact on theimmune system so researchers are careful to protecttheir animals from undue stress.

In nine percent of the procedures, neither anesthesianor pain medication could be used, as they would haveinterfered with research results. However, when this isthe case, discomfort is minimized as much as possible.

In the words of the late esteemed heart surgeon Dr. Michael E. DeBakey: “These scientists, veterinarians,physicians, surgeons, and others who do research in animal laboratories are as much concerned about the care of the animals as anyone can be. Their respectfor the dignity of life and compassion for the sick and disabled, in fact, is what motivated them to searchfor ways of relieving the pain and suffering caused by diseases.”

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MYTHRESEARCH ANIMALSARE DELIBERATELY KEPTIN PAIN

The vast majority of biomedical research

does not result in significant discomfort

or distress to research animals. The

USDA reports that in 2010, 60 percent

of all research procedures with animals

involved no more than slight or

momentary pain or distress (i.e., an

injection). Thirty percent of the research

procedures employed anesthesia and/or

post operative painkillers.

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FACTPromising medical treatments are on the horizon, thanks tothe tremendous capabilities of stem cells, but stem celltreatments must first demonstrate safety and efficacy inanimal models before they can be introduced in humans.

Stem cells have the potential to regenerate cells, tissues, andorgans, and to serve as delivery tools of important growthfactors. Neural stem cells have been shown to deliverenzymes to brain cells in rats, penetrating the blood-brainbarrier, and suggesting a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s.Scientists are now developing drugs to regulate the actionsof stem cells once they have been implanted, to be sure thatthey reproduce at the proper rate and that they differentiateinto the right kind of cells.

MYTHSTEM CELL RESEARCH DOES NOTREQUIRE ANIMAL MODELS.

Stem cells allow close examination of the stages of cell and tissue development, and the origins of abnormalities. In fact, with further study, stemcells may be capable of replicating tissues andorgans with such precision that fewer animalmodels would be required for certain types ofresearch. However, there is still much that isunknown about stem cells and how they can bestbe used to treat diseases and disorders. It iscritical, therefore, that scientists have the abilityto explore all avenues of stem cell research to most fully benefit human and animal health.

FACT

Though it isn’t easy to reconcile our love and appreciation foranimals and the essential need for animal research, knowing that the animals are treated respectfully, responsibly, and ashumanely as possible strengthens our understanding and respect for animal research.

Those who seek to end animal research — either because theychoose to reject its well established validity and usefulness orbecause they believe the life of a rat is equal in importance to the life of a child — have gone to shocking lengths to subvertmedical and scientific progress. University laboratories have been broken into, animals stolen and years of precious researchdata destroyed.

While many animal rights organizations refuse to condemn suchcriminal behaviors, most people have not, do not now, and willnot in the future tolerate violent and radical activist campaignsagainst the biomedical research community.

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MYTHIF YOU REALLY LOVE

ANIMALS, YOU SUPPORT THEANIMAL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

AND ITS EFFORTS TO ENDANIMAL RESEARCH.

The vast majority of Americans supportimproving human and animal health through the responsible and humane use of animals in medical and scientific research. And mostAmericans love animals. The two concepts are notmutually exclusive — when you know the facts.

FACTTo say that animal research does not benefit animals isinaccurate. With the recent sequencing of genomes, in-depth research into animal physiology, and surgicaladvances, researchers are constantly being reminded thathumans share many biological and physiologicalcharacteristics with animals.

Practically all biomedical research with lab animals advancesveterinary medicine as well as human medicine and helpsanimals live longer, happier, and healthier lives. Dozens ofdiseases, from cancer to epilepsy, affect both animals andhumans. Vaccines that treat humans benefit animals.

Many other conditions are successfully treated, in bothhumans and animals, with antibiotics. Through research with animals these diseases and disorders are becomingmore manageable and less fatal.

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MYTHANIMAL RESEARCH IS THE

EXPLOITATION OF ONE SPECIES FORTHE EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF ANOTHER.

From asthma to Alzheimer’s, from high bloodpressure and heart disease to cancer, people and their pets share a myriad of diseases andbenefit from similar therapies. Thanks to animalresearch, effective new drugs have been designed,sophisticated medical devices have beendeveloped, and remarkable surgical procedureshave been perfected for human and veterinarymedical care.

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Though it isn’t easy to

reconcile our love and

appreciation for animals

and the essential need

for animal research,

knowing that the

animals are treated

respectfully, responsibly,

and as humanely as

possible, strengthens our

understanding and respect

for animal research.

The Foundation for Biomedical Research(FBR) is the nation’s oldest and largestorganization dedicated to improving

human and animal health by promotingpublic understanding, respect, and support for biomedical research inscientific and medical discovery.

Since 1981, FBR has provided continuousservice to America’s research community.

To make a tax-deductiblecontribution, or for moreinformation, contact:

Foundation for Biomedical Research818 Connecticut Avenue, NW

Suite 900Washington, DC 20006Phone: (202) 457-0654Fax: (202) 457-0659www.fbresearch.org

© 2013 Foundation for Biomedical ResearchAll Rights Reserved