Animal Experimentation Issues

Frequently Asked Questions About Animal Experimentation Issues

1. What concerns are raised by the use of animals for medical and scientific experiments?
2. What are the alternatives to using animals in medical experiments?
3. Is some animal testing required by law?
4. Doesn’t federal law ensure that animals used in research and testing are treated humanely?
5. How can I find out if my medication is cruelty-free and/or vegan?
6. How can I find out if a company tests its products on animals?
7. What are some of the alternatives to animal dissection?
8. I know that “x” school is conducting experiments on animals, but this institution is listed as a medical school that does NOT use live animals. Why?
9. How can I help eliminate live animal laboratories in medical schools?
10. Where can I find an advanced trauma life support course that does not use live animals?
11. Do you have a list of veterinary schools that do/do not use live animals?
12. How do I find out if a health charity funds or conducts research using animals?
13. How can I find out what kinds of animal experiments a health charity funds?
14. How can I help promote non-animal research?
15. How does the Council on Humane Giving approve a charity for the Humane Charity Seal of Approval?
16. What types of animal experiments does the March of Dimes fund?

1. What concerns are raised by the use of animals for medical and scientific experiments?
Serious ethical concerns are raised by the use of animals in experimental studies, particularly when the animals are subjected to painful procedures or toxic exposures. These concerns are heightened by a recent review of the scientific literature showing marked stress responses in animals undergoing routine laboratory procedures, such as caging, isolation, handling, and blood collection.

In addition to the ethical issues, the profound differences in anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry between humans and animals make animals poor models for humans. Results from research on animals cannot always be accurately extrapolated to humans and, in many cases, animals have been poor predictors for how humans will respond to drugs, treatments, or diseases.

Read the PCRM position paper on animal research >
Learn more about animal experiments in your own community >

2. What are the alternatives to using animals in medical experiments?
There are many precise, cost-effective, and humane ways to answer human health questions and conduct scientific research. Alternatives to using animals in research include epidemiological studies (studies of human populations), clinical research, in vitro (in a test tube) research, computer technologies such as simulators and imaging techniques, and replacing animals with human cells in safety tests.

Learn more about non-animal research methods >

3. Is some animal testing required by law?
Neither the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act nor FDA regulations require animal testing of pharmaceuticals. However, animal safety testing has become the default standard for the FDA, and the FDA industry guidance for preclinical drug testing states that the agency will “generally ask” for toxicity test results using at least two species of animals. Thus drug companies reasonably expect that the FDA will prefer animal safety tests for many safety endpoints. Some specific non-animal tests have been approved by the FDA, and other non-animal test results may be submitted by companies. But these are voluntary for the companies, which are understandably reluctant to jeopardize drug approvals by submitting non-animal data in lieu of the corresponding animal tests —even when the alternative tests may be more accurate.

There is also no statute or regulation requiring animal testing for cosmetics and personal care products. The FDA has no jurisdiction over these products until they are marketed, at which time they may be recalled if shown to be unsafe. More than 90 percent of cosmetics and personal products companies worldwide do not test ingredients or final products on animals. The Consumer Product Safety Commission regulates most other consumer products, and also has no jurisdiction until products are marketed.

The EPA regulates pesticides, industrial chemicals, and other categories of potentially toxic or unsafe materials. The EPA requires animal safety testing for many of these materials.

Until the FDA becomes more receptive to proven alternative methods and more proactive in promoting them with the companies it regulates, those companies and contract research organizations (CROs) will continue testing on animals.  

4. Doesn’t federal law ensure that animals used in research and testing are treated humanely?
No law in the United States prohibits any experiment. The only federal law that applies to animals used for research—the Animal Welfare Act—is, for all intents and purposes, a husbandry statute that regulates the size of cages, cleanliness standards, provision of food and water, etc., for only a small fraction of the animals used in research. Animals in laboratories are routinely subjected to painful procedures and are usually killed afterward. Routine caging, isolation, handling, and even the laboratory environment itself are extremely stressful to animals. 

Rats, mice, birds (who combined make up about 90 percent of all animals used in research), cold-blooded animals, and animals commonly used for food are excluded from the definition of “animal” under the Act and are therefore not given even these minimal protections.

5. How can I find out if my medication is cruelty-free and/or vegan?
All prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, and vaccines—regardless of whether or not they contain animal products—have been tested on animals. Food and Drug Administration regulations require that all new drugs undergo animal tests before they can proceed to clinical trials. It is important to note that information gathered in animal experiments often is poorly applicable to humans.

The fact that all drugs, by federal regulation, are tested on animals prior to entering the market is not a reason to avoid using them. Many drugs have been on the market for decades, and consumer use does not influence any new animal testing.

The best way to find out if your medication contains animal products is to consult your doctor or pharmacist or the company that makes the medication in question. Some medications may have the ingredients listed on the bottle or box.

Learn more about animal ingredients and their alternatives at the Caring Consumer Web site >

6. How can I find out if a company tests its products on animals?
PCRM provides information on health charities, colleges, and universities that use animals for medical research and/or educational purposes.

To find out which companies test cosmetic, personal care, and household products on animals, please go to the Caring Consumer Web site at www.CaringConsumer.com.

7. What are some of the alternatives to animal dissection?
Today’s technology offers many effective alternatives to animal dissection. Students and teachers can choose from a variety of humane options, including computer-generated animal models and dissection CD-ROMs, software, and simulators.

Learn more about alternatives to animal dissection.

8. I know that “x” school is conducting research on animals, but PCRM lists this institution as a medical school that does NOT use live animals. Why?
Our lists of schools that do and do not use live animal laboratories to train medical students refer only to the training of medical students, not to basic research that may also be conducted at medical schools and universities.

9. How can I help incorporate alternatives to live animal laboratories in medical schools?
Eighty-five percent of all U.S. medical schools, including Harvard, Stanford, and Yale, have eliminated live animal laboratories in favor of modern, cost-effective, and humane alternatives.

There are many steps you can take to bring in alternatives, including writing the schools that still use live animals and expressing your concern. If your local school or alma mater does not use live animals, consider writing a note of thanks for their humane policies.

Learn how you can help end live animal labs >

10. Where can I find an advanced trauma life support course that does not use live animals?
Many trauma courses offer realistic training using human cadavers and life-like simulators to demonstrate and teach invasive trauma skills.

To find a local medical center offering advanced trauma life support courses without using animals, please contact research program coordinator Ryan Merkley at rmerkley@pcrm.org.

11. Do you have a list of veterinary schools that do/do not use live animals?
PCRM does not have a list of veterinary schools that do or do not use live animals.

To find out which veterinary schools offer alternatives to live animal laboratories, please go to the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights’ Web site at www.AVAR.org.

12. How do I find out if a health charity funds or conducts research using animals?
The Humane Charity Seal of Approval certifies that a health charity funds only nonanimal research and programs.

To find out if your favorite charity is approved or if it stills funds research on animals, please go to www.HumaneSeal.org.  

You can search for charities by keyword or category, or you can view a list of all the charities in our database that do or do not fund research on animals.

If the charity you are looking for is not listed, please write to the charity in question and ask for a written statement as to whether it funds or conducts experiments on animals. To ensure a correct answer, it is important to request a written statement and to be explicit in what you request. If you receive a response, we would be grateful to receive a copy.   

13. How can I find out what kinds of animal experiments a health charity funds?
The best way to find out what kind of animal experiments a health charity funds is to directly contact the charity in question. You may also want to see if there is any information available on the charity’s Web site.

PCRM offers specific information on experiments funded by some charities >

14. How can I help promote non-animal research?
A great way to encourage non-animal research is to promote the Humane Charity Seal of Approval, which was designed as a guide to help donors identify health charities committed to providing direct services and care to patients or to funding state-of-the-art medical research without the use of animals. PCRM provides stickers, brochures, and other items to anyone interested in helping promote the Humane Charity Seal of Approval among friends, family members, and community. If you are interested in receiving these materials, please contact Melanie Hiller at mhiller@pcrm.org.

15. How does the Council on Humane Giving approve a charity for the Humane Charity Seal of Approval?
To be approved by the Council, a charity must execute a Statement of Assurance stating that it does not fund or conduct animal experiments now and will not do so in the future. Approved charities are listed on the widely distributed “Approved Health Charities Listing” and can use the Humane Charity Seal of Approval on promotional literature, advertisements, and Web publications.

Find out how a charity can apply for the Humane Charity Seal of Approval >

16. What types of animal experiments does the March of Dimes fund?
The March of Dimes has funded a series of controversial experiments, including an infamous study in which newborn kittens had their eyelids sewn shut for many months before being killed in an attempt to study the effects of visual deprivation. Additional MOD-funded experiments have included a variety of studies in which cocaine, alcohol, and nicotine were administered to animals, even though we have known for years that these substances can harm developing babies. The real advances in birth defects research have come from human epidemiologic and clinical studies.

Learn more about the types of experiments funded by the March of Dimes and what you can do to stop them >

Posted on 09/30/05
Updated 01/17/08

Media Center | Health | Research | About PCRM | Catalog | Join Us | Search | Site Index | Home

The site does not provide medical or legal advice. This Web site is for information purposes only.
Full Disclaimer | Privacy Policy