The Case for the Use of Animals in Biomedical Research

Abstract

USING animals as research subjects in medical investigations is widely condemned on two grounds: first, because it wrongly violates the rights of animals,¹ and second, because it wrongly imposes on sentient creatures much avoidable suffering.² Neither of these arguments is sound. The first relies on a mistaken understanding of rights; the second relies on a mistaken calculation of consequences. Both deserve definitive dismissal.Why Animals Have No RightsA right, properly understood, is a claim, or potential claim, that one party may exercise against another. The target against whom such a claim may be registered can be a single . . .