Studies Database

Lousky T. The effect of the Middle East conflict on the use of animals in training, research and testing in Israel. AATEX 2008;14(Special issue):261-264

Abstract

For over 70 years, the Middle East conflict, which in recent years has focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has been causing severe loss of life and resources to all those involved. The impact and intensity of the conflict are such that civilians are preoccupied constantly and continuously with it. Coping with such a conflict requires many psychological adjustments, changes in societal beliefs, and adoption of specific individual and social practices, including the pursuit of security. The issue of security has become the main preoccupation of Israeli society as well as a societal value which plays a major role in many decisions made in the country. In this work we demonstrate how these issues affect the use of animals in scientific procedures in Israel. For that objective, analyses were performed for the annual animal use statistics for the military and security sector and the industrial and academic sectors in 2000-2004 and for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Animal Experimentation) Act (1994). The results indicate that the conflict and the security issue created by it has both a direct and an indirect effect on the use of animals in Israel, demonstrated accordingly by: (a) a correlation between the number of conflict victims and the number of large mammals used, and (b) by the fact that security-oriented experiments are continuously attributed a higher priority both ethically and legally, that effectively places them beyond the regulations which moderate all other animal experiments in Israel.

Author's contacts: tlousky@gmail.com

Author's keywords: animal experimentation, security, military, Middle East Conflict

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Link to journal: AATEX - Alternatives to Animal Testing and Experimentation

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