How should we evaluate the net benefits of animal experimentation?
See LaFollette and Shanks (1995). The authors discuss: different kinds of animal models; the need for a causal model to justify animal research; benefits foregone by animal testing safety laws (aspirin); benefits achieved that could have been obtained by alternative methods (e.g. human experiments); limited improvements in human lifespan attributable to vaccines; and the limited role of vaccines in eliminating diseases. Specific claims made for and against vivisection After sifting through the literature in favour of animal experimentation (Americans for Medical Progress, 2002; European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, 2002; The Research Defence Society, 2004), and against it (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 1998; Greek and Greek, 2000; Americans For Medical Advancement, 2002; The Medical Research Modernization Committee; and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, 2004), as well as “open” groups with members from both sides of the de
