1. Why Use Animals?

2. What we use animals for: 170 million animals are kept by us as pets. 9 billion animals are consumed each year as food. 26 million animals are used for research annually.

3. If humans stopped using animals for research 100 years ago, the world would be very different today! Advances in genetics Understanding the brain Understanding AIDS Many of us are alive & healthy today because of the knowledge gained from animal research. Our pets can live longer healthier lives because of the advances in veterinary medicine due to animal research.

4. Animals are used in Biomedical Research because: It is not ethical to test drugs with unknown & potentially adverse side effects on humans Controlled experiments need to introduce only one variable at a time. Ex. Animal populations are easily controlled in a lab setting. Animals are the best surrogate because of their similarities to humans, both in structure and function of their organs & biological systems.

5. Cont’d Shorter life spans of animals allow scientists to study effects over shorter periods of time. Ex. Rats live 2-3 yrs. A more rapid rate of reproduction allows for several generations to be studied over a short period of time compared to humans!

6. Past tragedies that didn’t have enough animal testing: In 1937, an antibacterial medicine was sold in the US as liquid dissolved in antifreeze, Antifreeze is toxic and caused 107 people to die. 1980s a Teflon-coated disk was placed in peoples jaws for TMJ. It had to be removed because it was breaking into tiny fragments that caused a reaction and eroded the jawbone. Animal studies were not done until failures began in 1984. Before 1976 devices such as these did not have to be FDA approved before being marketed. Today they go through extensive lab & animal testing & clinical trials of closely monitored patients.

7. Common Animal Models Cats => Auditory Monkeys => Immune System Dogs => Cardiovascular & Endocrine Mice & Rats => Aging

8. Unique Characteristics of Animal Models Squid => Nervous System studied for ALS/ Lou Gehrig’s disease Horseshoe Crab => Nervous System for Colorblindness Steelhead Trout => Cardiovascular System for Degenerative Heart Disease Monkfish => Endocrinology for insulin production in Diabetes

9. Cont’d Seals => Respiratory & Nervous System for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Painted turtle & Water Snake => Reproduction/ Embryonic Development for Blood Lipids & Cholesterol level.