Animal Experiment Rise BY1 by Alok Jha - Research Paper Example

The number of procedures done may not be equivalent to the number of animals used because one animal can be used in several procedures. Breeding of genetically modified animals is counted as a procedure too (Jha 1).

The use of animals has increased by 1% in 2010. This includes the 1.6 million procedures done involving genetically modified mice. According to Judy McArthur, a chief inspector at the animals’ scientific procedures inspectorate of the Home Office, excluding genetically modified animals, the increase is less than 1%. This is because of the increase in the number of fish up to 23%, which counts for about 93,000 of the total animals. Dogs, primates, cats, and horses are protected by the law, therefore, the total number of procedures done using the animals is 19, 773, which accounts for around 0.5% of the total. The number of dogs used in the procedures dropped by 2%, and that of cats dropped by 32%. In toxicology tests, the number of animals used dropped by 11%. 

Barney Reed, a senior scientist at the RSPCA described the rise of these procedures as astonishing. He pointed out that the rate of carrying out the procedure had increased by 37% in the past decade. Martin Walsh, the head of the Home Office’s animals scientific procedure division, provided that efforts are being made to reduce the number of animals used for research, as well as ending the use of animals as household products.

The ethical question it raises   The main ethical question raised in the article is why scientists breed genetically modified animals, yet they could be endangered by such procedures. Here, according to Professor Dominic Wells from the Royal Veterinary College, one of the reasons why scientists produce more genetically modified animals is because they have refined their procedures. The scientists, therefore, produce two lines of mice that do not show any adverse phenotype until they are crossed. This enables them to generate any number that they want before they conduct any procedure. Breeding of the mice helps the scientists increase the number of animals they use, but they decrease the overall severity of what they do (Jha 5).

Assumptions In this article, there are assumptions that scientists can produce more animals by the process of genetic modification. This is why research centers would want to contract more scientists to help carry out genetic modification procedures. There is also an assumption that, for scientists to be able to diagnose different diseases and their causes, they must use animals in their studies. It is finally assumed that scientists are capable of diagnosing many diseases through their experiences, therefore, they can easily come up with their remedies.

 The norms these assumptions make are as follows. The view of science as a reliable method for building objective knowledge about the world assumes that scientists ought to be honest in conducting and interpreting their research. However, scientists use animals to research different kinds of diseases among other scientific developments. Therefore, they need to be honest in their procedures and the results they generate (Jha 6).   Read More