There are five common attitudes towards animals held by people. Often times in the ethical debate over animal experimentation these attitudes become polarized to include only animal experimenters and animal rights advocates. This polarization of attitudes leads to the distortions that animal experimenters are all insensitive people who treat animals as tools, and that animal advocates are all anti-science and anti-intellectual terrorists. These distortions are very far from the truth. There are many scientists who are compassionate to animals, and the majority of animal rights advocates are sensible and responsible in their protests.

The first attitude held by people is the animal exploitation attitude. People who hold this attitude believe that humans have absolute dominion over animals. They feel that humans have the right to use and abuse animals for any purpose, without restriction. These people advocate activities involving animals that are illegal in most of this country. These activities include bull fighting, cock fighting, live pigeon target shooting, and the poaching and trading of exotic and endangered species. People who hold this attitude believe that the killing of animals is always justifiable no matter how painful the method of killing may be. 

The second attitude held by people is the attitude of animal use. These people believe that animals can be used to meet human needs for food, biomedical research, entertainment, weapons, labor and clothes. Animal use groups promote animal experimentation, hunting, trapping, the fur industry, the meat and poultry industry, rodeos and exotic animal keeping. These groups usually have guidelines by which their activities are conducted; some are regulated by the law. The pro animal experimentation groups with this attitude feel that no limits should be placed on the animal research. These people favor the use of pound animals for experimentation and are opposed to finding alternatives to using animals for experiments. Animal Use groups believe that ideally the killing of animals should be fast and painless, but are not opposed to methods where the killing is prolonged and painful.

The third attitude is the animal welfare attitude. This attitude is one of high popularity. People who hold this attitude believe that people have a responsibility to protect animals from harm. They feel that limits should be placed on animal use for human purposes and, in order to achieve socially acceptable standards, these activities may need to be regulated by law. People who hold this attitude include national and local animal welfare organizations, wildlife conservation groups, and environmental protection groups. These groups educate the public about their responsibilities to animals and some undertake the control of overpopulation of pet dogs and cats. The main goal of these groups is to set limits on activities. They feel that pets should only be kept by responsible people, animals may be used for food but not factory farmed, and that animals may be used as subjects on selected experiments, but not any and all experiments. [i] They strongly support the use of alternatives to animal research and feel that killing, when necessary, must always be fast and painless. 

The next attitude held is the animal rights attitude. These people believe that animals have intrinsic rights that should be guaranteed just as the rights of humans are. These rights include the right to not be eaten, the right to not be used for sport or research, and the right to not be abused or killed. Animal rights supporters speak out against the use of animals for experimentation, hunting, factory farming, rodeos, circuses, and exhibition of wild animals in zoos. They urge public demonstrations peaceful confrontations, and civil disobedience. People who hold this attitude are divided between those working for the regulation of activities such as research and rodeos, and those who are calling for a total ban of those activities. Most people who have this attitude do not hunt or support entertainment or sports that involve animal use. These people are also willing to go without things resulting from medical research such as vaccines. They do not eat any products that come from animals. These people oppose killing animals unless it is to reduce suffering. [ii]

Animal Experimentation Continued...