From: Should biomedical research with great apes be restricted? A systematic review of reasons
Domain | Position | Subdomain and reasons | N | References |
---|---|---|---|---|
Moral standing | 104 | |||
Similarity to humans | 60 | |||
Pro | GA possess certain cognitive and behavioral capacities similar to humans, and thus deserve special protections | 15 | ||
GA and humans have a similar evolutionary origin, so GA deserve special protections | 10 | |||
GA possess certain conscious experiences similar to humans, and thus deserve special protections | 9 | |||
Like humans, GA exhibit moral behavior, and thus deserve special protections | 8 | |||
GA are greatly anatomically and/or physiologically similar to humans, and thus deserve special protections | 6 | |||
There is great genetic similarity between GA and humans, so GA deserve special protections | 5 | |||
Like humans, GA have a long period of childhood dependency on the mother, so they deserve special protections | 3 | |||
GA are very similar to humans (unspecified), and thus deserve special protections | 2 | |||
GA possess cognitive capacities similar to those of cognitively disabled humans, and thus deserve special protections | 1 | [60] | ||
Con | GA seem very similar to us, but this need not entail special protections since it may be the result of training or mimicking | 1 | [40] | |
Cognitive and consciousness-related capacities | 32 | |||
Pro | GA can have complex conscious experiences, so they deserve special protections | 19 | [3, 13,14,15, 18, 23, 25,26,27, 33, 35, 39, 41, 42, 47, 48, 53, 64, 69] | |
GA have certain sophisticated cognitive capacities so they deserve special protections | 13 | |||
Double standards | 8 | |||
Pro | Treating GA with less consideration than humans, without good reason, is speciesist | 7 | ||
Treating GA with less consideration than humans is inhumane | 1 | [47] | ||
Vulnerability and dependency | 4 | |||
Pro | Captive GA can be considered vulnerable subjects, and thus deserve special protections | 3 | ||
Captive GA are in a special relation of dependency on humans, and thus deserve special protections | 1 | [49] | ||
Science | 89 | |||
Scientific and medical value | 56 | |||
Pro | Current GA research has low medical value | 12 | ||
GA research lacks significant scientific value (unspecified) | 6 | |||
The medical value of past GA research need not predict the medical value of future GA research | 2 | |||
Past GA research has been falsely credited as having high medical value | 2 | |||
Even if the need of GA to combat an emerging diseases were justified, their use would not be possible for logistical and economic reasons | 1 | [64] | ||
The supposed need of GA research to combat emerging diseases is unjustified | 1 | [61] | ||
GA have not been key to combating emerging diseases | 1 | [26] | ||
Con | Current GA research has high medical value | 9 | ||
Past GA research has had high medical value | 6 | |||
GA may be needed to combat future emerging diseases (e.g. Ebola) | 4 | |||
Past GA research has had high scientific value | 3 | |||
Abandoning GA as research models may slow down medical discovery | 2 | |||
Current GA research has high scientific value | 1 | [67] | ||
GA research is essential for reducing risks to human research subjects | 1 | [67] | ||
The medical value of past GA research is a good predictor of the medical value of future GA research | 1 | [67] | ||
The medical value of GA research may be higher than it seems, since some GA research supplied to regulatory agencies is never published | 1 | [67] | ||
GA research-based medical progress will become increasingly apparent with time | 1 | [51] | ||
GA research may become (even more) medically valuable as a result of new technologies | 1 | [67] | ||
Restricting GA research could cost human lives | 1 | [66] | ||
Existence of alternative methods | 27 | |||
Pro | GA research is unnecessary (unspecified) | 7 | ||
Alternative, ethical methods (e.g., other animals or non-animal models) exist | 6 | |||
Restricting GA research might drive scientists to develop alternative research methods | 1 | [26] | ||
Con | No alternative, ethical methods exist | 8 | ||
GA research is necessary (unspecified) | 3 | |||
Major medical advances would not have been possible with alternative methods | 2 | [12, 67,] | ||
Reliability of methods | 6 | |||
Pro | The methodology of current GA research is questionable (unspecified) | 1 | [41] | |
GA used in labs often have multiple diseases and so are inappropriate research models, scientifically and ethically | 1 | [24] | ||
The stress that GA face in laboratory life can produce misleading research results | 1 | [14] | ||
The apparent genetic similarity between GA and humans need not entail that GA are appropriate research models | 1 | [15] | ||
GA have proved to be poor research models, so investing resources in them may hinder the advancement of medicine | 1 | [14] | ||
Con | Given the phylogenetic continuity between GA and humans, GA are good animal models for studying human diseases | 1 | [31] | |
Welfare | 32 | |||
Pro | GA care and housing requirements are virtually impossible to meet | 5 | ||
The conditions of captive GA are appalling | 4 | |||
GA care and housing requirements are not actually met | 2 | |||
The conditions of captive GA can cause GA psychological harms | 2 | |||
GA care and housing requirements are particularly high (unspecified) | 1 | [64] | ||
GA research sometimes significantly harms GA (unspecified) | 1 | [63] | ||
GA research sometimes significantly harms GA physically | 1 | [26] | ||
GA research sometimes significantly harms GA psychologically | 1 | [26] | ||
Since GA are long-lived, they are used for multiple protocols, which results in increased suffering | 1 | [64] | ||
Since GA are long-lived, they can be kept in laboratories for decades, which is unethical | 1 | [26] | ||
Captivity deprives GA of social learning, which is required for normal development | 1 | [55] | ||
The benefits of GA research do not outweigh the harms it causes GA | 1 | [64] | ||
Although there is great uncertainty regarding the nature and magnitude of GA suffering, we should assume that suffering may occur | 1 | [47] | ||
Con | GA care and housing requirements can actually be met | 3 | ||
GA research can be carried out without significantly harming GA | 2 | |||
GA are better off in research facilities (e.g., in terms of life-expectancy or wellbeing) than in the wild | 2 | |||
GA care in research facilities is adequate | 1 | [66] | ||
GA research is necessary for improving GA welfare | 1 | [21] | ||
Captive GA that are abandoned by their owners are better off in research facilities than in the wild since there are no available sanctuaries to keep them | 1 | [56] | ||
Public and expert attitudes | 24 | |||
Pro | Many other (developed) countries have already restricted GA research | 12 | ||
There is opposition for GA use in research | 8 | |||
Many pharmaceutical companies and private laboratories have already ended GA use | 1 | [14] | ||
Expert support for invasive GA research has declined | 1 | [61] | ||
GA scientists now share concern about GA research | 1 | [26] | ||
GA research sometimes requires euthanizing GA, but euthanizing GA is widely condemned | 1 | [57] | ||
Conservation and retirement | 20 | |||
Pro | Supplying GA for research has led to a decline of wild populations and the threat of extinction | 2 | ||
GA are endangered species (unspecified) | 2 | |||
Optimal GA retirement should be to return them to the wild, but this is not feasible | 1 | [35] | ||
Appeals to conservation do not justify breeding GA in captivity for research | 1 | [47] | ||
Con | Conservation efforts could benefit from GA research | 4 | ||
GA could be cared for after research by moving them to near-wild conditions | 3 | |||
GA research could improve the welfare and protection of GA as a species | 2 | |||
Enough captive GA are already available for research | 2 | |||
Breeding captive GA for research could ensure the survival of the species | 1 | [66] | ||
GA could be cared for after research by moving them to other research facilities | 1 | [40] | ||
GA could be cared for after research by moving them to indoor/outdoor facilities | 1 | [31] | ||
Respect and rights | 15 | |||
Pro | GA are capable of assenting/dissenting (like children) | 5 | ||
GA can be considered subjects with diminished or no capacity for informed consent | 3 | |||
GA possess enough cognitive capacities to be considered persons | 3 | |||
GA possess enough cognitive capacities to be considered near-persons or person-like | 2 | |||
Given that GA have the same capacities we cite for humans having the moral right to life, freedom, and welfare, GA should also be conceived as having these rights | 1 | [25] | ||
Given that GA have the capacities that may form the foundation of personhood, they have a moral right against our intentional infliction of harm | 1 | [49] | ||
Financial costs | 13 | |||
Pro | Required GA care and housing costs are too high to be cost-effective | 3 | ||
Required GA care and housing costs are particularly high | 2 | |||
The financial costs of GA research are particularly high | 2 | |||
The benefits of GA research do not outweigh the financial costs | 1 | [13] | ||
Given that GA are long-lived, the costs of GA care and housing after research is particularly high | 1 | [60] | ||
Funding for GA research continues to decrease, while the costs of GA research continues to increase | 1 | [26] | ||
Con | Many experiments could be carried out with just a small population of GA | 1 | [67] | |
Given that GA are long-lived, the costs of GA care and housing after research is high but manageable | 1 | [31] | ||
Restricting GA research could increase medicine costs | 1 | [66] | ||
Law and legal status | 11 | |||
Pro | Some laws and policies already restrict the use of GA for research | 3 | ||
Given their cognitive capacities, GA should be granted legal personhood | 2 | |||
GA should be granted the legal right to liberty | 1 | [69] | ||
GA should be granted the legal right not to be subjected to experiments that are not in their best interests | 1 | [63] | ||
GA should be granted the legal right to personal security | 1 | [63] | ||
GA should be granted the legal right to life | 1 | [63] | ||
Con | Laws and policies protecting GA vary in terms of strictness depending on setting (research, zoos, or private homes) | 1 | [21] | |
Granting legal personhood to GA is a slippery slope into granting legal personhood to other animals | 1 | [54] | ||
Longer-term consequences | 7 | |||
Pro | Restricting GA research is instrumental for restricting research on other animal species | 3 | ||
Restricting GA research is an important first step away from speciesism against GA | 1 | [63] | ||
Restricting invasive GA research need not have a negative impact on non-invasive GA research | 1 | [16] | ||
Con | Restricting GA research will have a negative impact on non-invasive GA research | 2 | ||
Total | 315 |