DEFICIENCIES IN THE NATIONAL-INSTITUTE-OF-HEALTH GUIDELINES FOR THE CARE AND PROTECTION OF LABORATORY-ANIMALS

This paper is a critique of NIH guidelines for the care and protection of laboratory animals. It exposes four serious deficiencies in these guidelines: (1) failure to make it clear that the mere pursuit of know ledge does not justify using animals; (2) failure to give any guidance concerning what constitutes human benefit or well-being; (3) failure to countenance trade-offs between human benefit or well-being and anim al well-being; (4) failure to dearly specify what constitutes keeping animals in an 'environment appropriate to the species and. its life hi story.' It concludes with the suggestion that the construction and rev ision of these guidelines is too important to be left to the professio nals.