ABSTRACT
The French philosopher Rene Descartes, for example, proposed that animals are simply automata and not conscious beings, and therefore can be used to improve the human condition without ethical repercussions. Most societies with a well-developed research infrastructure have regulations of some form to permit the use but prevent the abuse of animals as experimental subjects in biomedical research. In a particular society, the nature and extent of the regulations reflect the philosophical foundation that underlies the perceived roles and rights of animals in the society. One philosophical position is that animals have no rights and no moral status, and they can be used in ways to benefit humans without consideration of the consequences to the animals. All humans and all animals possess a life, and life imposes a responsibility to attribute an equal moral status, and equal rights, to all.
