Veterinary Research for Companion Animals

FACTSHEET

Opponents of vivisection are usually not against all types of animal research. They oppose research that harms animals, for both ethical and scientific reasons. Most critics of vivisection do not object to clinical studies on already sick animals in order to find a cure for that specific illness. So long as such studies are performed according to the standards and laws governing clinical research on humans, clinical trials on animals are acceptable and even welcome.

In practical terms, this means testing potential therapies first on non-animal systems (for example, cell cultures produced from tissues taken from the same species) and, most important, putting the wellbeing of the individual animal above the scientific aims of the research. A scientifically valid and ethical study is one that is designed first to help the animals taking part in it and, second, to find a treatment for other animals suffering from the same disease.