Societal concerns about animal welfare have led to changes in the philosophy and practice of laboratory-animal medicine that
are advantageous to research animals as well as to laboratory-animal veterinarians.
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs), which oversee animal use activities in most institutions, deal with
many controversial issues surrounding laboratory animals. Veterinarians serving on IACUCs exemplify veterinarians' important
contributions to science, despite the fact that they may be viewed by some investigators as obstructionists to research. For
example, veterinarians can clarify the relationship between animal distress and aberrant research results and work with investigators
to choose the most appropriate animal model.
Laboratory animals have benefited from the current emphasis on alleviating pain and distress as well as from improved veterinary
training. Nonetheless, veterinarians and researchers occasionally display cavalier attitudes toward pain management ("just
give some more analgesic"), to the detriment of animal welfare and good research outcomes.
The animal rights movement largely objects to the use of animals in research. The lack of meaningful communication between
those who support or oppose such use has led to polarized opinions and has inhibited finding common ground for advancing animal
welfare. Nevertheless, publicity from animal rights activities has provided an impetus for positive animal welfare changes,
such as ways to reduce, refine, and replace laboratory animals.
The demographics of laboratory-animal medicine are changing as more women join the ranks. Will women, who work part-time more
than men do, exacerbate the current shortage of laboratory-animal veterinarians? Will women, who are more tolerant than men
are of an animal rights philosophy,1 change the current practice of laboratory-animal medicine?
Jerald Silverman, DVM, DACLAM
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Jerald Silverman, DVM, DACLAM
Department of Animal Medicine
Department of Pathology
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Worcester, MA 01655
REFERENCE
1. Eldridge JJ, Gluck JP. Gender differences in attitudes toward animal research. Ethics Behav 1996;6:239-256.
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