Wasted Money in United States Biomedical and Agricultural Animal Research

Abstract

Biomedical and agricultural animal research uses millions of experimental animals and dozens of animal species each year by choice, precedent, or regu­ latory mandate in basic and applied life science research and toxicity testing of drugs, chemicals, and consumer products. Animal research is a large compo­ nent of the international us$270 billion government-subsidized, biomedical industrial ecosystem (Chakma et al., 2014). In the United States (us) and pre­ sumably elsewhere, about half of these funds support animal research and testing (Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, 2012 ). Each year at least 115 million experimental animals (mostly mice and likely a sig­ nificant underestimate) are used worldwide (Akhtar, 2015). The status quo ani­ mal research environment provides "ecosystem services" to a large number of inter-dependent "species", including governments, academia, biotechnology, agri-food and pharmaceutical industries, and publishers. Losers in this system are the conscripted animals (for "labor") and taxpayers (for "capital"). Animal research squanders precious public and private monies directly, in­ directly, by opportunity cost, and by unintended negative consequences. There is no doubt that biomedical and agricultural animal research have delivered societal dividends. Nevertheless, the questionable benefit-cost ratio and the unquestionable negative repercussions of animal research are enormous for taxpayers, patients, and the public at large. Precise animal research investments and attendant waste are impossible to ascertain, in part because the research community and the us government obfuscate financial and animal use data. However, estimated us tax dollars wasted on animal use in biomedical and