Why is animal testing important in science?

Animal testing is conducted in both basic and applied research. In some cases, to ensure human safety, it is required by law. Basic research forms the foundation of medical and applied research. It investigates fundamental mechanisms within an organism in order to understand them and to develop new approaches to treatment. In this context, researchers often rely on animal testing. Some processes in the human or animal body can be studied in isolation. However, only in a living animal can the specific interactions between individual organs, cells, and cellular components be studied. Comparative studies across different animal species often lead to new insights. Applied research raises new questions, which in turn feed back into basic research. In other words: basic research and applied research are mutually dependent and lead to advances in clinical medicine, environmental protection, and in animal welfare.

There are numerous examples showing that results from animal experiments conducted carefully and responsibly benefit medical progress and, consequently, human beings. Here is an overview of important medical advances made possible by animal research:

The importance of animal testing for medical progress is shown by the Nobel Prizes awarded in the category Physiology or Medicine. Since 1900, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded around 70 times to researchers who have made groundbreaking discoveries, not least through animal testing. Examples range from the discoveries of insulin and penicillin to today’s AIDS treatments and insights into the functioning of the immune system and the brain.

Thanks to animal testing, antibiotics, vaccines against diseases such as polio, and insulin for people with diabetes have been developed. Today, approximately 80 percent of children with leukemia can be cured. The treatments for this disease were developed through animal testing. Enormous progress has also been made, and continues to be made, in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, various forms of cancer, and AIDS, as well as in surgery, based on animal research. 

Neurobiological animal experiments have made a significant contribution to improving the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric and neurological disorders. For example, they have greatly expanded our understanding of childhood vision disorders such as strabismus and the development of myopia. The development of neuroprostheses for rehabilitation following spinal cord injuries or strokes is based on findings from experiments with rhesus monkeys. In addition, the transmission mechanisms of prion diseases such as kuru, scrapie, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease have been studied, which was crucial for understanding bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), a disease transmissible to humans.