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Research involving animals is used to further our understanding of how our bodies work, to study disease, and to test all potential forms of therapy hen this information cannot be obtained from other methods.

Significant advances in technology have provided researchers with very focused information that does not involve the use of live animals. For example, high throughput screening in drug development allows researchers to identify the most likely candidate, so that only promising substances are tested on an animal model. Also, monoclonal antibodies are produced in bioreactors and only those that cannot be made this way use mice.

There is a perception that alternative methodologies eliminate the need to use animals in drug development. This is unlikely, at least into the foreseeable future. For example, a new a treatment may focus on a specific tissue or receptor, but since there are other body systems with receptors that might also be affected, the impact of the treatment on the entire body must be assessed. These findings, commonly seen as side effects, can only be determined from testing in a live animal model.

There is much debate about our ability to extrapolate animal research results to humans. Generally, there are more similarities than differences. For example, we share more than 250 common diseases with various animals. The most appropriate animal model must be used for these studies or the data is questionable. In cases where there is no direct correlation, animals can still provide a valuable indication of how human systems will be affected.

In addition to finding improved treatments for diseases that affect human and animal health, the public must be assured that all consumer products they use are safe and effective. It would be unacceptable to eliminate the use of animals for research and testing purposes if no valid alternative exists.

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Significant efforts are made to minimize animal suffering. This includes the replacement and/or refinement of some animal tests, more alternatives to invasive studies, and the use of analgesics.

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In addition, there is considerable oversight of research studies, greater involvement of veterinarians with expertise in laboratory animal medicine, and better-educated animal health technicians.

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Most invasive studies now must be conducted under anesthetic or are non-survival. Oversight committees (animal care and use committees),

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whose primary responsibility is to ensure that the welfare of experimental animals is considered, are in the best position to determine research protocols that are unacceptable.

Biologically similar to humans, animals are vulnerable to over two hundred of the same health problems. This is what makes animals so crucial to biomedical research. These animals are used for many different aspects of biomedical research. There are a plethora of benefits that have come about from using animals in research including anesthesia, antibiotics, vaccines, vitamins, and allergy treatments are just a few. Biomedical research done with animals has begun to answer some of the most difficult medical problems such as cancer, heart disease, depression, and HIV.

One of the most widely used rationales against using animals in research is that research on animals is not relevant to people because animals are different from people and suffer from different illnesses. This is untrue. As science has progressed, it has become possible, in some instances, to breed animals with the same exact genetic faults that cause some human diseases. When this is not the case, the fact is that all mammals come from common ancestors, are biologically very similar, and contain the same organs that perform the same functions that are controlled by the same mechanisms.

Another rationale people use to oppose animals in research is that there are alternative methods just as effective that could be used in biomedical research. What these people often do not realize is that these alternative methods are used alongside animals, not in place of them. It is rarely possible to substitute one method for another. While computer simulations may give the scientists a general idea, there are stages in all research projects when it is not enough to know how individual pieces work, the scientists must know how everything works together. There is no alternative for using animals at this stage in the research.