Olsson I Anna S, J Nicol Christine, Niemi Steven M, Sandøe Peter
Laboratory Animal Science Group, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, UK.
ILAR J. 2021 Sep 24;60(3):404-414. doi: 10.1093/ilar/ilz018.
The focus of this paper is the requirement that the use of live animals in experiments and in vivo assays should never be allowed if those uses involve severe suffering. This requirement was first implemented in Danish legislation, was later adopted by the European Union, and has had limited uptake in North America. Animal suffering can arise from exposure to a wide range of different external and internal events that threaten biological or social functions, while the severity of suffering may be influenced by the animals' perceptions of their own situation and the degree of control they are able to exert. Severe suffering is more than an incremental increase in negative state(s) but involves a qualitative shift whereby the normal mechanisms to contain or keep negative states at arm's length no longer function. The result of severe suffering will be a loss of the ability of cope. The idea of putting a cap on severe suffering may be justified from multiple ethical perspectives. In most, if not all, cases it is possible to avoid imposing severe suffering on animals during experiments without giving up the potential benefits of finding new ways to cure, prevent, or alleviate serious human diseases and generate other important knowledge. From this it follows that there is a strong ethical case to favor a regulatory ban on animal experiments involving severe suffering.
本文的重点是一项要求，即如果实验和体内试验中使用活体动物会导致严重痛苦，那么这类使用绝不应该被允许。这一要求首先在丹麦立法中得以实施，随后被欧盟采纳，而在北美地区的采用程度有限。动物的痛苦可能源于接触各种不同的外部和内部事件，这些事件会威胁到其生物或社会功能，而痛苦的严重程度可能会受到动物对自身处境的认知以及它们能够施加的控制程度的影响。严重痛苦不仅仅是负面状态的逐渐增加，而是涉及到一种质的转变，即正常的控制或避免负面状态的机制不再起作用。严重痛苦的结果将是失去应对能力。从多个伦理角度来看，对严重痛苦加以限制的想法或许是合理的。在大多数（即便不是所有）情况下，在不放弃寻找治愈、预防或减轻严重人类疾病的新方法以及获取其他重要知识的潜在益处的前提下，有可能避免在实验过程中给动物造成严重痛苦。由此可见，从伦理角度出发，强烈支持对涉及严重痛苦的动物实验实施监管禁令。
