Abstract

While many attitudes towards animals changed in regard to cruelty in the eighteenth century, the question of animal experimentation and the exploitation of animals used in research continued to resonate well into the nineteenth century and continues unabated today. Historical legislative victories notwithstanding, cruelty to animals, including their treatment in factory farming, “entertainment” and their use in laboratory experiments and medical procedures continues to be the focus of animal rights and animal activism. This chapter examines the use of animals in contemporary science where xenotransplantation, and bioengineering are on the rise. These practices require invasive experimental laboratory procedures, and while animal rights advocates and activists have been instrumental in challenging animal testing with regards to cosmetic use, drug testing, military field surgery and psychological experiments, research in bioengineering, cloning and xenotransplantation flourishes often beneath the radar of those who would oppose cruelty and the exploitation of animals for the benefit of humans.