and, i think opposing this for ethical reasons is a red herring.

being a mouse is going to suck, regardless: minimal cognitive abilities (despite advanced emotional abilities), low lifespans and probable eventual death via predation. i mean, if your most likely endpoint is being eaten alive by an owl at 30% of your maximum lifespan, then why is being grown for pancreas cells so terrible?

i mean, you realize that the mouse can probably feel it's own brain being ripped out by the claws, right?

i'm not even arguing that their lives are meaningless, either - this isn't an exercise in absolute nihilism, and i'm not suggesting that we should discard their experiences. what i'm pointing out is that there's nothing really preventing a donor mouse from being happy and well taken care of. in fact, as it would be for a pregnant mother, you'd want to ensure that a mouse that is bred for this reason is well-fed and kept away from environmental harms.

i have a harder time justifying purely experimental research, and largely argue against it. i don't think we should torture them. that's cruel.

but, we're the advanced species, here, and i don't see why we can't do this humanely.

https://theconversation.com/human-animal-hybrids-are-coming-and-could-be-used-to-grow-organs-for-transplant-a-philosopher-weighs-in-121228