Using Animals for Research. Level 5: Identify ethical and moral issues linked to animal research. Level 6. Describe how particular animal research has provided evidence to help scientists to look at, and answer further questions. Level 7. Suggest economical, ethical and cultural arguments for and against animal research.

Watch a video(s) on animals in research You will then be grouped into pairs Each pair will be designated a “Thinking Hat”. You will be supplied with some further information “For” and “Against” animals in research (3 minutes reading time) Taking the standpoint of your “thinking Hat” you will discuss this in your pair (3 minutes) and take notes under the correct hat on your A3 page (4 minutes) Today’s task

Groups with the same thinking hat will then come together and discuss their points (5mins). In this time you must pick a spokesperson for your group who will feedback to the rest of the class. Notes should be taken on each groups feedback under the relevant hat An essay will then be set as homework next lesson using the information fed back from each group. Today’s task

Video:

Get your Thinking Hats on!

The White Hat The FACTS hat What information do we have about a problem? What information do we still need? What information is missing? How will we get the information?

The Red Hat The EMOTIONS hat How do we feel about a problem? What are ‘gut reactions’? Given no limits what would be a good solution to the problem?

The Purple Hat The PROBLEMS Hat What is wrong with this situation? What can’t be done to solve it? What or who is stopping us from solving the problem? Why might our solution not work?

The Yellow Hat The BENEFITS Hat What would be the positive points about solving this problem? What will be good about solving this problem?

The IDEAS Hat The Green Hat What are the possible solutions? Are there any alternatives to the original problem? Is yes or no sufficient to solve this problem?

The Blue Hat The PLANNING Hat What is the first step to carrying out our new idea? What extra thinking do we need to do? How can we summarise our plan?

The Question…. Should animals be used for scientific research?

Red Hat thinkingYellow Hat thinkingBlack Hat thinking White Hat thinking Blue Hat thinkingGreen Hat thinking Should animals be used for scientific research?

Should we be allowed to use animals in scientific research? Red Hat thinking I feel this is a difficult problem to assess. My gut reaction says it is wrong, animals should not be harmed in any way, and it upsets me to think millions a year are being abused. But then I picture my family, what if they got ill? Yellow Hat thinking If we were to find alternatives to animal testing, this would be of benefit to millions of animals who do not have to live a life of suffering for our benefit. On the other hand, if animal testing must continue, at least we can hope it is to the benefit of our own kind Purple Hat thinking Animals are suffering for our gain. However, we are unsure if animal research is as effective as we are lead to believe. What we cannot do is completely stop animal testing, as this could cause catastrophe. According to UK legislation, animal testing is completely mandatory for pharmaceuticals being released to the public – at least two mammals must be tested. White Hat thinking The information provided supplied us with some background information on animal testing, with some examples attached. More information is needed as a whole on both sides. There is great debate on this area so it is important to gain more information from both sides of the argument, as well as unbiased scientific evidence showing us the effectiveness of animal testing, and how well this is transferred to humans. Blue Hat thinking Search for alternative models to animal testing models. Start to decrease the number of animals used to research as is possible. Evaluate the effectiveness of these other models. We need to think about how we could mimic the “whole body” model. Research into the alternatives and the effectiveness shown of these. Green Hat thinking Alternatives consist of test tube studies on human tissue culture, which can arise from stem cells, statistics and computer models. However, the main issue here is that the body is complex, and all systems are interrelated. Can we mimic this in the lab? Further research will have to be done on our parts to enable a yes or no answer to the above debate.

Homework You need to write up your notes as an essay. Think about structuring each essay so that each coloured hat is a paragraph. Remember the question you are answering is Should we be allowed to use animals for scientific research?