The Ethical Implications of Using Mice in Biomedical Research: A Critical Welfare and Policy Review from an RSPCA Perspective

Abstract

Mice (Mus musculus) are widely used as a mammalian animal model in biomedical studies because they are genetically related to humans, which implies that their use requires stringent ethical and welfare considerations. This review examines the ethical issue of mouse experimentation as an RSPCA concern, focusing on the dilemma between scientific utility and the moral sentience of mice as sentient creatures. There is evidence that mice have complicated emotional abilities, such as empathy -like behaviors and vulnerability to stress contagion. Nevertheless, the physiological and behavioral needs of people are not usually addressed in the traditional laboratory environments, which results in chronic stress and low experimental validity. In this paper, the Five Domains Model is used to identify severe welfare gaps in the normative housing and handling procedures. The moral permissibility of such research is determined by the use of the following ethical frameworks: Utilitarianism, Animal Rights Theory, and the Capabilities Approach. In addition, the article criticizes the practical use of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 by finding that the regulation lacks compliance and harm and benefit evaluation. To solve these problems, the review suggests obligatory environmental enrichment, non-aversive handling, and more focused investment in the non-animal technologies. Finally, empirical welfare science must be combined with the ethical theory to improve the research practice and respect the moral duties of sentient research participants.