On the one hand, the government's role is that of guardian of public health and to protect this most fundamental of interests, it is necessary that animal experiments be carried out on the government's behalf, albeit on as limited a scale as possible. On the other hand, governments are bound by the increasingly apparent moral obligation to protect all living creatures. The state's role, largely confirmed by the evidence from Britain and the United States, is to balance the demands of competing legitimate interests and to try and promote consensus. To expect anything else, as advocates on both sides of the debate over animal experimentation frequently do, is unrealistic at present. One area in which consensus may be difficult although not impossible to achieve is the development and application of transgenic animals.
Transgenic technology entails the insertion of foreign genetic material into the germ line.
Transgenic technology is also increasingly used in agriculture to create animals with a higher economic value, for example dairy cows which produce greater quantities of milk. Agricultural transgenics were not discussed at the Congress, but a number of sessions were devoted to laboratory animal transgenics and its ethical implications. Genetic manipulation of animals is felt by many animal protection advocates to be ethically problematic, while many researchers believe the increased efficiency of such animals offers substantial scientific and even ethical advantages. Mice can be modified in order to be made susceptible to viral infections usually limited to primates, so that the testing of vaccines such as the polio vaccine can be adapted to rodents. Disease models can be created with foreknowledge of the specific genetic change underlying the disease state.