The History and Ethics of Vivisection

Rowan (1984)* “It is just not adequate for scientists to argue that there is a quantum difference between the moral status of humans and other animals if they are unable to give reasons for such a belief and defend their reasons in the arena of modern philosophical debate.” * In “Of mice and men – a critical evaluation of Animal Research”

Cave painting from Altamira - drawn up to 15,000 years ago

Lascaux caves - drawn over 10,000years ago Lascaux caves - drawn over 10,000years ago

Mural from Egyptian tomb - painted c years ago

Galen of Pergamum ( ) - first record of vivisection?

Aristotle (c. 350 BC) - Man rational and therefore at head Alcmaeon of Croton - C. 500 BC - brain, not heart the central organ of sense, optic nerve function Hippocrates - born in 460 BC. Observation and study of human body. Rational explanation for disease.

Romans - up to 5000 animals a day slaughtered in amphitheatres

Virgil, Ovid, Cicero - great compassion for animals Plutarch, Seneca - man has a duty of kindness to humans and animals

St. Francis - compassion for animals St. Thomas Aquinas ( ) - only humans are rational. Animals exist for human needs and have no moral status /soul

Bubonic plague Almost half of Europe’s population wiped out. Local, regional or pan- European outbreaks for next 200 years. Hunts - mass extinctions Animals for sport Bull baiting Cock fighting

Renaissance - renewed interest in Science and Philosophy

Witch trials - animals treated as rational beings - tried and sentenced, especially when suspected of being mediums for witches. Vatican - sparrows excommunicated

Rene Descartes ( ) Expanded on Christian humanist philosophy - the soul distinguishes the human from all other animals - 'beast machine' - unoiled cogs of robots

William Harvey ( ) Demonstrated blood circulation using vivisection (C. 1620) A significant increase in vivisection followed

Samuel Johnson in The Idler (c.1770) "Among the inferior Professors of medical knowledge is a race of wretches, whose lives are varied only by varieties of cruelty; the truth is that by knives, fire and poison knowledge is not always sought and very seldom attained and if knowledge of physiology has been somewhat increased, he surely buys knowledge dear who learns the use of the lacteals at the expense of his humanity."

O'Meara (1655) "the miserable torture of vivisection surely places the body in an unnatural state". Robert Boyle, Robert Hooke Concern for welfare of their subjects but convinced that the costs were justified.

Jeremy Bentham ( ) "The question is not - Can they reason? nor Can they talk ? but Can they suffer?"

Bentham (cont.) - All humans worthy of equal and humane consideration - 'the day may come when the rest of animal creation may acquire those rights which never could have been withholden from them except by the hand of tyranny'

- 1790's - agitation for anti-cruelty laws. (butchers convicted after cutting off sheep's feet) Martin's Act Offence to wantonly abuse, beat or ill-treat any animal the property of any other person or persons Joseph Pease - others property clause removed.

- public lectures and demonstrations involving vivisection Francois Magendie 's

5 guiding principles - basis of 1876 CAA Marshall Hall (1830s)

Five guiding principles 1. Is the experiment necessary ? 2. Does it have the possibility of achieving the desired result? 3. Can the protocol be modified to reduce discomfort? 4. Has the experiment been done before? 5. Will the protocol produce valid results?

SPCA founded by Richard Martin Royal patronage RSPCA 1850's - anaesthesia. - RSPCA object to vivisection Victoria objects to vivisection Bill presented to Commons 1876 – Cruelty to Animals Act

Frances Power-Cobbe ( ) m Victoria Street Society for the Protection of Animals from Vivisection m Victoria Street Society for the Abolition of Vivisection after 1876 Act m Founded the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection

Tissue and organ transplants  Corneal transplants, 1800s. First human –  First work on organ transplants,  First kidney transplants, 1950s initially in dogs.  Heart surgery, 1940s initially in dogs.  Heart transplants, 1960s. Monkey to human 1964; human to human  Initial bone marrow transplants in mice, 1970s.  Replacement heart valves, 1970s.

Corneal transplants – early 1900s  First successful transplants  Work on animals for many years  First human transplant in 1906

1920s Canine distemper vaccine Insulin for diabetics

1930s – 1940s  Broad spectrum antibiotics  Modern anaesthetics  Whooping cough and diphtheria vaccines

1940s Heart and lung machine for open heart surgery

Kidney transplants  Work carried out initially in dogs  First human transplants in 1950s  Problems with rejection – many years of work with animals to understand and overcome.

1950s  Polio vaccine  Hip replacement surgery  Drugs for high blood pressure

1960s  Heart transplant operations – initially in dogs; monkey to human in 1964 and human to human in  Genetic basis of tissue typing from work on animals.  Rubella vaccine

1970s Improved treatment for asthma Drugs for gastric ulcers

Replacement heart valves  Replacement valve, usually from pigs, washed, denatured and tanned to render it biologically inert.  Developed after many years work in rabbits, Guinea pigs and rats.

Coronary bypass surgery

1980s  Drugs to prevent transplant rejection  Drugs for viral diseases

Medical milestones 1900s Corneal transplants Local anaesthetics 1920s Insulin for diabetics Canine distemper vaccine 1930s Modern anaesthetics Diphtheria vaccine 1940s Broad spectrum antibiotics for infections Whooping cough vaccine Heart lung machine for open heart surgery

Medical milestones 1950s Kidney transplants Cardiac pacemakers Replacement heart valves Polio vaccine Drugs for high blood pressure Hip replacement surgery 1960s German measles vaccine Coronary bypass operations Heart transplants Drugs to treat mental illness

Medical milestones 1970s Drugs to treat ulcers, asthma and leukaemia Improved sutures and other surgical techniques 1980s Drugs to control transplant rejection CAT scanning for improved diagnosis Life support systems for premature babies Drugs to treat viral diseases

Medical milestones 1990s Feline leukaemia vaccine Meningitis vaccine New drugs for some cancers Better drugs for depression Combined drug therapy for HIV infection

Ethics m The philosophical study of the moral value of human conduct and of the rules and principles that ought to govern it m Moral philosophy

UTILITARIANISM m Consequentialist theory m The right action is the one which brings about the best aggregate consequences m Total benefits outweigh total suffering

DEONTOLOGY (Rights view) m Value of animals not reducible to their utility relative to the interests of others m Certain beings have certain moral rights m The use of animals in research (or farming) is wrong because it violates the moral rights of the animals used.

(1975) Animal Liberation - Peter Singer Proposed that moral consideration should transcend the species boundary to include all sentient animals. Called for reasoned intellectual debate

Peter Singer 'If a being suffers, there can be no moral justification for refusing to take that suffering into consideration. No matter what the nature of the being, the principle of equality requires that its suffering be counted equally with the like suffering of any other being.'

Inherent value - Tom Regan 'Animals, it is true, lack many of the abilities humans possess. They can't read, do higher maths, build a bookcase or make baba ghanoush. Neither can many humans, and yet we don't (and shouldn't) say that they therefore have less inherent value, less of a right to be treated with respect, than do others.'

Albert Schweitzer ( ) Ethics must widen the circle from the narrowest limits of the family, first to include the clan, then the tribe, then the nation and finally all mankind.' 'By reason of the quite universal idea of participation in a common nature, it is compelled to declare the unity of mankind with all created beings.'