#I'm not against it in theory but my stance on captivity is that the animal should be happier than it would be in the wild
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Really frustrated that I can’t solve the ethical problem of animal experimentation in one Sunday afternoon.
#my lab doesn't work with mice but what are the chances that I can avoid that through my entire career?#I'm not against it in theory but my stance on captivity is that the animal should be happier than it would be in the wild#do to that with mice you need bigger cages with exercise wheels and more enrichment than is currently required#and also you need to keep them pain-free during experiments#read about some very interesting genetically engineered mice that have pain receptors that don't work when fed a certain diet!#but no one is doing any of this as far as I've seen#I went to one presentation on p. aeruginosa#they infected mice with it and encouraged sepsis by giving the mice a traumatic injury-burning a section of skin with scalding water#initially under anaesthesia of course but then the mouse woke up and had to live with that painful injury!#seemed barbaric#and at the end of this guy's phd he didn't really have any results anyway#which happens that's fine but this experiment was already not going to prove anything about sepsis in humans from the start#too many things had to be simplified because they were reliant on ER patients for samples and then putting things in a mouse model..#it was just difficult to simulate what they were trying to simulate so already it wasn't perfect#so at that point#using a genetically modified mouse that couldn't feel pain would be the least concern no?#but that's just not done for some reason#I'm sure the reason is money#just like providing a large living space would be expensive#but an important expense I think#making it more expensive to use research animals will give people more incentive to find better experimental alternatives anyway#but you have to 'prove' that an animal is significantly distressed by a smaller space#which is hard to do#hate that the burden of proof lies in that direction#instead we should err on the side of assuming animals are distressed in worse conditions until proven otherwise#but that would be too inconvenient for society to handle of course#I think it's pretty obvious that a mouse is happier when they have more toys and variety and space and things to run and climb on!#and if you cared about your science beyond just what reviewers will find acceptable then you would want your mice to be happier too
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