Conscientious Objection to Animal Experimentation in Italian Universities

Abstract

Simple SummaryThis paper examines the trend of Italian academic faculties in complying with the obligation to inform university students of their right to exercise their conscientious objection to scientific or educational activities involving animals, hereafter written as “animal CO”, as established by Law 413/1993, “Norme sull’obiezione di coscienza alla sperimentazione animale” (“Rules on conscientious objection to animal experimentation”), thereafter “Law 413/1993”. Despite an increasing interest in the principles of animal ethics by the international community, this law is still largely disregarded more than 20 years after its enactment. The Ethics Committees, Animal Welfare Committees, as well as the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research should preside over and monitor the Universities’ compliance with the duty to disclose animal CO.AbstractIn Italy, Law 413/1993 states that public and private Italian Institutions, including academic faculties, are obliged to fully inform workers and students about their right to conscientious objection to scientific or educational activities involving animals, hereafter written as “animal CO”. However, little monitoring on the faculties’ compliance with this law has been performed either by the government or other institutional bodies. Based on this premise, the authors have critically reviewed the existing data and compared them with those emerging from their own investigation to discuss limitations and inconsistencies. The results of this investigation revealed that less than half of Italian academic faculties comply with their duty to inform on animal CO. Non-compliance may substantially affect the right of students to make ethical choices in the field of animal ethics and undermines the fundamental right to express their own freedom of thought. The Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research, ethics committees and animal welfare bodies should cooperate to make faculties respect this law. Further research is needed to better understand the reasons for the current trend, as well as to promote the enforcement of Law 413/1993 with particular regard to information on animal CO.

A Survey on the Knowledge and Attitudes of Italian Medical Students toward Body Donation: Ethical and Scientific Considerations

“…The promotion of a pro-PMBD culture and the adoption of measures to regulate this practice for scientific purposes may not only improve physicians’ anatomical and surgical education, but also significantly reduce the number of animals sacrificed [27,28]. Such policies may consequently narrow the gap between Italy and many other countries where there is a good availability of donated bodies for educational purposes.…”

Conscientious Objection to Animal Testing: A Preliminary Survey Among Italian Medical and Veterinary Students

“…[15][16][17] Analysis of the survey results revealed major gaps in the students' knowledge of COAE, confirming that Italian universities often neglect their duty to inform students about the current legislation in this area. 11 This lack of knowledge, and the scant consideration of the importance of COAE, are particularly evident among HMS and could be ascribed to the exclusive focus of medical schools on ethical issues specifically associated with human medicine, such as informed consent, prognosis communication, treatment obstinacy and beginning and end-of-life decisions. Moreover, this inadequate knowledge could impair the students' ability to make well-informed ethical choices, potentially giving rise to personal conflict with regard to the individual's own morality, religion, beliefs or sensitivities.…”

“…Furthermore, the previous Italian legislation (Law 413/1993, Norms on Conscientious Objection to Animal Experimentation) established students' right to exercise conscientious objection to animal experimentation (COAE) without suffering discrimination, as well as their right to be offered nonanimal alternatives to help achieve their learning objectives. 11 To date, no studies have investigated the extent of differences between the knowledge and attitudes of veterinary students and medical students on animal bioethics, on alternative strategies and on their right to exercise COAE. Specifically, the aim of this study was to survey the opinions of students of veterinary and human medicine at Italian universities on various aspects of: the knowledge of the right to exercise conscientious objection to animal experimentation; the importance of being able to exercise this right; the potential critical issues surrounding this decision; and their general interest in animal bioethics and nonanimal alternatives.…”

“…Furthermore, the previous Italian legislation ( Law 413/1993, Norms on Conscientious Objection to Animal Experimentation ) established students’ right to exercise conscientious objection to animal experimentation (COAE) without suffering discrimination, as well as their right to be offered non-animal alternatives to help achieve their learning objectives. 11…”

Animal experimentation: A look into ethics, welfare and alternative methods

“…This is quite questionable in veterinary educational programs, where its ethical justification is to foster the progress of medical knowledge. 16 Continuing medical education is increasingly changing, and the search for alternative methods in surgical training has been increasing, so as to avoid the overuse of animals, thereby reinforcing ethical principles and animal rights. Accordingly, educational institutions seek ways to teach surgical practice without compromising the quality of teaching.…”