Animal experimentation at the Federal University of Goiás: elements for a critical approach

Abstract

Animal experimentation is any practice that uses non-human animals for didactic and/or scientific purposes, including dissection and vivisection. The practice comes from the instrumental value - deeply rooted in our history - that humans give to other living creatures. This work explores the moral attitudes towards this methodology among 38 researchers/teachers of the Federal University of Goiás, Campuses I and II, who practice animal experimentation. The results indicate that the majority are open to alternative methods, although they believe that animal experimentation is indispensable for science. This scientific method directly affects the concepts and behavior of students and those practicing in the biological sciences in general.