In May 2005 the British Nuffield Council on Bioethics published a voluminous report, titled “The Ethics of Research Involving Animals” (324 pages). The report is free for download at:
http://www.nuffieldbioethics.org/go/ourwork/animalresearch/publication_178.html
It is advertised as follows:
“This Report seeks to clarify the debate and aims to help people think through the ethical issues that are raised. The ways in which animals are used in different areas of research are reviewed, including: basic or “blue sky” research, the development of new medicines and vaccines, and toxicity testing. The Report makes practical recommendations for future policy and practice, relating among other things, to the use of GM animals, ways of improving the quality of debate, the implementation of the Three Rs (Refinement, Reduction and Replacement), and the responsibilities of researchers, reviewers and funding bodies.”
This report is a great deal foreward to provide reliable information on the difficult topic “Animal Ethics”.