The use of nonhuman animals (hereinafter “animals”) for the benefit of humans and other animals is a contentious subject throughout many of the world’s countries. Cultural morals and traditions, the status of animals in various religions, individual and cultural ethical values, and the diversity of concern for specific species (including the perceptions about the “warm and fuzzies” [e.g., dogs and cats] versus the “creepy-crawlies” [e.g., mice, rats, and reptiles]) all contribute significantly to the complexity of addressing moral (rightness or wrongness) and ethical (what ought to be) issues involved when considering the use of animals in biomedical research, teaching, and testing activities (hereinafter “biomedical activities”). Further, it is most certainly difficult, if not impossible, to define what the moral status of sentient animals (species that can feel pain and suffer), creatures that are not persons yet not mere things, should be that would be universally accepted. These factors also contribute to the complexity of the regulatory climate in the numerous countries in which there is some sort of oversight of animal use in biomedical activities (see Attachment I for examples of U.S. laws, regulations, and guidelines and the list of worldwide regulations [excluding the United States] compiled by AAALAC International) (AAALAC International 2015).
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