Life-Affirming Principles for Experimentation with Animals

Abstract

All life has value and deserves respect. Each animal is, like us, a sentient creature with its own life spark. Today all practicing scientists accept that ethical consideration for animals must precede every piece of biological and psychological research. However, present guidelines largely focus on preventing pain and do not consider the intrinsic worth of an animal's life. This document moves forward by laying out clear principles for ethical animal experimentation in which the value of a unique animal life is recognised. In so doing, it asserts the right of each animal to life and seeks to protect the lives of the fellow creatures with whom we share this planet.