How the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the necessity of animal research

Abstract

Recently, a petition was offered to the European Commission calling for an immediate ban on animal testing. Although a Europe-wide moratorium on the use of animals in science is not yet possible, there has been a push by the non-scientific community and politicians for a rapid transition to animal-free innovations. Although there are benefits for both animal welfare and researchers, advances on alternative methods have not progressed enough to be able to replace animal research in the foreseeable future. This trend has led first and foremost to a substantial increase in the administrative burden and hurdles required to make timely advances in research and treatments for human and animal diseases. The current COVID-19 pandemic clearly highlights how much we actually rely on animal research. COVID-19 affects several organs and systems, and the various animal-free alternatives currently available do not come close to this complexity. In this Essay, we therefore argue that the use of animals is essential for the advancement of human and veterinary health.

The continued need for animals to advance brain research

“…The ethical regulations in place across Europe and in many other countries are strict and work well to protect and improve animal welfare. In some countries, however, these regulations have become overburdened by bureaucracy (Genzel et al, 2020). For example, the process of receiving the first ethical approval should, on average, take approximately 6 months.…”

Bridging animal and clinical research during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: A new-old challenge

“…While technically possible, its complexity practically eliminates mechanical ventilation from large-scale animal studies [48]. The work with SARS-CoV-2 virus is further burdened by the enhanced biosafety (BSL-3) requirements (increasing costs and limiting modeling capacity) and increasingly restrictive ethical consideration (especially in the EU countries) regarding the use of animals models at the highest severity classification [1].…”

“…in a form of negative screening of potential drug candidates to exclude low-impact compounds and more efficiently streamline the drug and vaccine development processes. Notably, such an expansion contradicts long-term goals set by various inter(national) policy makers (including the 2019 EU Directive (2010/63/EU) aiming at radical reduction and elimination of animal safety & drug testing [1]. Given the investigative burden of the current pandemic, it appears that animal-based research plays a central supportive role in the quest for quality scientific information.…”

Covid-19 Pandemisinde Veteriner Hekimliği Etiği

“…Covid-19 salgınının, aslında hayvan araştırmalarına ne kadar güvendiğimizi de açıkça gösterdiğini; Covid-19'un birçok organ ve sistemi etkilediğini ve şu anda mevcut olan çeşitli alternatif yöntemlerin yetersiz kalarak tabloyu daha da karıştırdığını ve bu nedenlere bağlı olarak Covid-19 salgınında deney hayvanların kullanımının insan ve hayvan sağlığının geliştirilmesi için gerekli olduğu görüşü savunulmuştur. Covid-19 krizinin ancak aşı veya antiviral ilaç tedavisi ile aşılabileceği ve bunun için de araştırmalarda hayvan kullanımının vazgeçilmez olduğu, hayvan modelleri yoluyla alınacak sonuçların çok daha hızlı sonuç vereceği ileri sürülmüştür (23).…”