Skip to main content

Shielding Against Abuse, for all creatures

An animal life used for medical science is not a discardable existence. Yet our international community disregards unnecessary suffering as it maintains a status quo of chaos and disorganization. 

Like a strategic administrative assistant flown in from overseas to an academic medicine department hiring to do ‘whatever the doctor wants me to’,  chaos and disorganization may serve the unsupervised, unscrupulous researcher. Chaos and disorganization creates circumstances in which some can do whatever they want. However, only structured principles and rules allow us to advance data into medicine practice. So only structured principles and rules should guide the involvement of other life forms, particularly those that experience pain and emotion. 


Global structure around the use of animals in medical science should encompass all biological science. Rules and requirements will always receive knee-jerk pushback, so we should start confidently, definitively and clearly.


Minimal paths forward should require: 


  • Assessment of current national laws, consequences and metrics on law enforcement activities around animal use in biological science. Establish liaisons and survey countries.

  • Assessment of international agreements where animal rights and avoidance of suffering fit in.  Assign an international organization this task, with country outreach when necessary.

  • A third-party literature review of the limitations and advantages of animal life in biological science. Assign an international organization this task, with country outreach when necessary.

  • A third-party white paper on medical research recommendations for animal model use, as well as definitive methodology in which animal models inclusion is inappropriate. Assign an international organization this task, with country outreach when necessary.

  • An international report on indicators to evaluate animal suffering and pain.  Survey countries on animal compassion and culture. Assign an international organization the task of the report.

  • An international honesty around the serious threat that animal research may pose to humans. Like any other threat, the risk of harm is greater with negligence. And, an institution or country negligent on animal compassion is a risk for negligence in the lab. Animals models within negligent walls increase risk to human health. Survey countries on rules, codes, records of violations, consequences and country perspective on advancing animal research safety alongside quality to animal care. Measure the philanthropic funding and determine how it is tied, if at all, to animal welfare.

  • Consensus around international medical science laboratory credentialing that includes: on site inspection, inspector bias and ethics assurances, mechanisms to anonymously report animal abuse and ongoing quality assurance to the animal model use. Survey countries on rules, codes, records of violations, consequences and country perspective on advancing animal research safety alongside quality to animal care. Measure the philanthropic funding and animal welfare ties.

  • Assessment of primate use, allowance and regulation by country, with international consensus the ultimate goal. Assign an international agency this task, account for philanthropic and government research funding, request evidence and evidence-based research guidelines, and gain raw numbers of primates. Report on primate breeder and regulation processes by country. Determine risk metrics, with weight for regulation, oversight and animal wellbeing, and assign countries a grade. Determine this with countries at the table.

  • United Nations oversight of animal abuse and animal use in medical science, tied to biological science.  

  

Medicine and science is only as progressive as its ability to shield from chaos. Rules and regulations shield the professions from enticing, chaotic laboratory research. We can envision the next two to three decades ahead as we secure animal safety and guard against animal suffering in medical science. And, when we envision the decades to come, let us prioritize our logical minds as well as our interconnected hearts. 

 

For most of us, in our hearts, we don’t want to hurt animals. 


Our hearts know what is right, and we may as well ask our minds to design for this. Let’s ensure the shield encompasses all creatures, great and small. 


Decades from now, having our priorities straight will be the ultimate act of brotherly love, as well as the ultimate act for any bracket of love.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Oxygen

Keeping it simple for oxygen coordination is best accomplished when we're welcomed in.  It’s good to support global leadership in medical oxygen supply management for underserved communities and countries in need.  It’s great to support efforts that strengthen individual country leadership toward national strategies on medical oxygen supply management.   Both require some tread into a country’s vulnerabilities on medical needs.  Let’s tread meaningfully and in a way that assures a welcome back.  Detail the coordinating agencies or government departments responsible for medical oxygen supply receipt. Meet with health administrators.  Detail a country’s current policies, compare with a global review and detail opportunities for policies on oxygen management. Is medical oxygen supply and/or maintenance an ongoing regulatory component within a country? What would it take to sharpen regulatory efforts? Is medical oxygen supply a component to ongoing emergen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Responsiveness

Responsiveness in healthcare affects optimal management, psychological safety, physical safety, customer service and quality.  Responsiveness is often dropped, or not followed through, or placed as a one-time play.  When considering others’ places and spaces, healthcare must anticipate that the gaps left by “no reply” get filled in. One way or another, a lack of response gets substituted. Often, misinformation gets deputized. As healthcare becomes increasingly interested in “infodemics” [1] and misinformation, healthcare must first take responsibility and ownership of responsiveness.  In others places and spaces, and in healthcare’s own, there must be ownership of:    How often concerns are raised to the organization, and to global health, by experts in medical fields? In other fields? How often concerns are raised by general members of the public?  The types of concerns raised Potential algorithms or classifications, so that critical reviews can occur in a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Experts and Regulation

For all the global health coordination, and all the international research collaboration, there is no movement toward scope of practice, labor regulation, prescribing regulation or biotechnological responsibility standardization.  We should encourage measured progress toward accountability in medicine regulation, and we should do so with countries at the table.   What are the medical professions, credentials, approved education and scope of practice in healthcare, per country? What are the community healthcare worker (CHW) roles if allowed, per country? What would countries like to see adjusted or mirrored?  Which procedures are allowed for each healthcare profession? What are the rationales, inclusive of supply and demand and access issues?  What are the differences in approvals and guidelines for medicine safety, and for who can prescribe what? What is the healthcare political climate in various countries and how does this affect decision making? What analytic...
Post a Comment
Read more