Animal Experimentation: notes about cruelty in the History of Science

Abstract

Scientific progress has allowed an indisputable improvement in the quality of life for humans and other animals. However, this success is often presented without mentioning the costs associated with it. Taking the period of modern science as reference, which began and consolidated in the 16th and 17th centuries, the increase of part of scientific knowledge was achieved through experimentation on humans and animals. In a clear example of the permeability of science to the hierarchical values prevailing in society, slaves and prisoners were used in different experiments, as well as the poorest and most vulnerable (for example, people with mental illnesses). Equally common was the practice of testing patients before the safety of the inoculated substances was guaranteed. The practice of vivisection and dissection on animals was also generalized, being dogs, rats, rabbits, cats, horses and deer frequently used, and primates generalized only in the 20th century. Scientists such as the Portuguese Amato Lusitano (1511-1568), the English William Harvey (1578-1657), the French Claude Bernard (1813-1878) and Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) or the German Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915) are just a few examples of the use of animal experimentation in their discoveries. But, if mobilizing fundamental ethical principles of today in practices that occurred in the past does not seem to make sense, it is important to highlight that the scientific practices described were one of the factors that led to the emergence of precursors of human and animal rights and to the creation in the 19th century of associations such as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and the Société Protectrice des Animaux (SPA) which initiated the organized fight against cruelty to animals. These and other movements have led to the current situation in which the use of animals in scientific research continues to be a controversial topic, and in which the principles of substitution, reduction and refinement have been adopted.

This text aims to present the contributions of some scientists to the history of animal experimentation in the last 5 centuries. Documentary analysis of some works by reference authors, namely: Bory (2013), Newton (2013) and Guerreni (2022) was privileged, although other texts are also referenced.