Lastly, cross-referencing using computerised databases of past research can eliminate the need for repetition of research, or can reveal correlations between data from different experiments. The key point is that animal experiments produce animal data, and do not therefore provide reliable, predictive information for the treatment of human illness. The Value and the Cost of Animal Experiments Resources for research and healthcare are scarce. Therefore, in assessing the utility of animal experiments, one must also examine the costs of animal research in terms of the neglect of other methods of research and health care approaches. Animal research is most often justified in terms of drugs produced as a result of such experiments.
Drugs are part of a broadly curative approach to health care.
However, medical historians point out that preventative measures have made the biggest contribution to improvements in health. Epidemiology is the study of disease in human populations - it does not involve experimentation on animals. It reveals environmental causes of ill health. Prevention is not only effective, it is humane. Logically, it is in the interests of human welfare that we do not become ill in the first place, rather than fall ill, with its attendant pain and distress, and then rely on the possibility of symptom alleviation or recovery.