Interdisciplinary Animal Research Ethics—Challenges, Opportunities, and Perspectives
Marcel Mertz,
Tatiana Hetzel,
Karla Alex,
Katharina Braun,
Samuel Camenzind,
Rita Dodaro,
Svea Jörgensen,
Erich Linder,
Sara Capas-Peneda,
Eva Ingeborg Reihs,
Vini Tiwari,
Zorana Todorović,
Hannes Kahrass,
Felicitas Selter
Affiliations
Marcel Mertz
Institute for Ethics, History and Philosophy of Medicine, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Tatiana Hetzel
Institute for Ethics, History and Philosophy of Medicine, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Karla Alex
Section Translational Medical Ethics, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg, Department of Medical Oncology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Katharina Braun
Department of Law, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Samuel Camenzind
Department of Philosophy, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria
Rita Dodaro
Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Svea Jörgensen
Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
Erich Linder
Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1210 Vienna, Austria
Sara Capas-Peneda
i3S–Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
Eva Ingeborg Reihs
Karl Chiari Lab for Orthopaedic Biology, Department of Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Vini Tiwari
Institute of Neuronal Cell Biology, Technical University Munich, 81377 Munich, Germany
Zorana Todorović
Department of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Hannes Kahrass
Institute for Ethics, History and Philosophy of Medicine, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Felicitas Selter
Institute for Ethics, History and Philosophy of Medicine, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Can nonhuman animals be used for the benefit of humans in a scientifically and morally justified manner and, if yes, how? Based on our own experiences as scholars from various academic backgrounds, we argue that this question can only be answered as an interdisciplinary and international endeavor, considering insights from research ethics and animal ethics as well as scientific and legal aspects. The aim of this article is to contribute to the foundation of the emerging field of animal research ethics. In doing so, we describe the following seven phases of animal research experiments: ethical, legal and social presumptions (phase 0), planning (phase I), review (phase II), conduct of experiments (phase III), publication/dissemination (phase IV), further exploitation of results (phase V), and evaluation (phase VI). In total, 20 key ethical, legal, and practical challenges that an ethical framework for the use of animals in research needs to address are identified and analyzed. Finally, we characterize the following four meta-challenges and opportunities associated with animal research ethics as a field: (1) moral pluralism, (2) the integration of views and positions outside the laboratory, (3) international plurality of conduct, standards, and legal norms, and (4) interdisciplinary education.
