An Ethical Discourse On Animal Welfare

Running head: ANIMAL EXPERIMENT: AN ETHICAL DISCOURSE ON ANIMAL
WELFARE
Animal Experiment: An Ethical Discourse on Animal Welfare
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ANIMAL EXPERIMENT: AN ETHICAL DISCOURSE ON ANIMAL WELFARE
Topic Summary
Animal experiment, also known as animal testing or in vivo testing, refers to the use of
non-human animals in experiments of various disciplines, such as biological sciences,
pharmaceutical, toxicology, defence research, cosmetic testing and also in some of the
behavioural studies. More particularly, the experiments that seek to control the variables that
affect the biological systems and behaviours under a scientific study uses animals as their testing
samples. It is estimated that each year, more than 100 million animals, ranging from fish to non-
human primates, are used for scientific research. An estimate indicates that mice, rats,
amphibians, reptiles and fish together account for the 85% of the total number of research
animals (Doke et al. 224).
The staggering figures and evidences suggest that animal experiment is a widely
prevalent practice all over the world. In every country, under government and independent
laboratories, huge number of animals are regularly used to conduct scientific researches, which is
purportedly carried out for the benefit of science and the overall human population. However,
there has been a long standing debate regarding the use of animals for science experiments.
Animal rights activists and a section of moral philosophers strongly condemn the practice of
animal testing, arguing that it essentially a form of cruelty and therefore violates the rights of the
animals. However, the defenders of the animal experiment argue that animals, as devoid of
rationality, cannot be regarded as morally equal to human beings. Hence, there can be no
question of morality in the context of animal testing. Moreover, they claim that the benefit that is
yielded by animal testing for the mankind essentially make up for the harm caused to those
animals (Garner 221).

ANIMAL EXPERIMENT: AN ETHICAL DISCOURSE ON ANIMAL WELFARE
The opponents’ claim in this regard, is majorly based on the ethical principle of justice.
Animal welfare, as an ethical principle, can be defined as an ideal theory of justice if they are
regarded as sentient beings similar to human beings (Cao and White 52). On that ground, the
interest and wellbeing of animals should to taken into consideration, especially under human care
and ownership, or else it signifies unjust and unfair treatment to animals. This form of animal
welfare technically differs from the utilitarian principle of notable scholar of Bioethics and
Princeton Professor Peter Singer, who suggest that it is a human obligation to attend to the
interest of the animals, as they are similar to human beings. The similarity, however, does not lie
in the cognitive ability or rationality, rather it is embedded in their capacity to pain and suffer,
and the violation of animal interests and rights eventually lead up to disrupt the moral good or
happiness in the part of the animals (Kuhse, Schüklenk, and Singer 231)
In the light of the ethical discourse, it can be pointed out that the major altercation in the
context of animal experiment lies in determining the moral status of the animals. While one
section of thinkers refuse to accept as morally considerable beings who could be wronged, the
other argues in favour of essential moral considerable beings, as they claim there is no justifiable
way to exclude animals from moral consideration. To this end, the present research seeks to
examine the arguments in favour of the moral status of animals, to determine whether animal
testing could be morally justifiable.
Research Map
The study will undertake a brief survey of scholarly literature to extract the major points
in favour of the moral status of animals. Thereby, analysing the arguments it will determine