Our Chief Executive Officer, Ray Fowler (Running
Commentary, Monitor, June 1992) correctly recognizes the contribution of
animal experimentation to scientific psychology: "Research using animals
has immeasurably benefitted the advancement of knowledge in psychology,
and the lives of innumerable members of society have been enhanced and enriched
by the applications of psychology."
The development of psychotherapeutic medications has produced a radical
change in the clinical management of behavioral disorders, and a dramatic
improvement in the quality of life of both patients and the people who live
and work with them. We owe the discovery, characterization and safety evaluation
of these medications to research and safety testing that is dependent on
the use of laboratory animals.
The scientific community goes to great lengths to insure that the welfare
of their animals is assured; to do otherwise is bad scientific method. Scientists
must undergo intense scrutiny of their research protocols before any work
is done. These animal welfare reviews serve to protect the animals from
inadvertent mistreatment, as does an extensive state and Federal regulatory
apparatus and the pressures of competitive grant funding. An experiment
that is conducted without proper regard for the welfare of the animal subject
is a rare occurrence, in part because of the efforts of groups like the
APA Committee on Animal Research Ethics (CARE) that develops and recommends
guidelines and standards for the conduct of research. Let there be no confusion:
the accusation in the Monitor by PsyETA last December that the CARE committee
is not a welfare committee is patently false, and is an attempt by animal
activists to simulate a moderate stance. There seems to be no middle ground
between those concerned with animal welfare and animal activists who seek
to eliminate all human use of animals, humane or otherwise. Humans have
a moral responsibility to care appropriately for animals, and the efforts
of the CARE committee are focused on maintaining the high moral standards
of our professional association.
We note the letters objecting to Dr. Fowler's column. We agree with him,
and recognize the importance of his conclusion that "When any legitimate
area of psychology is denigrated and attacked, we must come to its defense
or we are all diminished". Most areas of scientific psychology are
based at least in part on animal research; we applaud the APA for strongly
defending it.
Robert Balster
Herbert Barry III
George Bigelow
John Boren
Joseph V. Brady
Larry Byrd
Leonard Cook
Linda Dykstra
John Harvey
George Heise
John Falk
Murray Jarvik
Conan Kornetsky
Victor Laties
Klaus Miczek
Donald Overton
Lewis Seiden
Maxine Stitzer
Travis Thompson
Bernard Weiss
Ronald Wood
James Woods
(The above are Presidents (present/past/elect) of the Division of Psychopharmacology
and Substance Abuse, in alphabetical order.)
