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The Middle Ages and the Renaissance
There is scant record of animal use in science between the time of Galen and the 17^th century, when there was a revival of interest in anatomy. During the Middle Ages (c. 1200-1600), society was agrarian and animals were necessarily viewed as existing for human use. Some records show that animals were considered as rational beings and even held responsible for their actions. There are many records indicating, for example, that animals were tried and sentenced to death, especially in cases in which they were suspected to be in collusion with witches. In the early 1500s, sparrows at the Vatican were excommunicated for contaminating holy statues with their droppings. Science was referred to as natural philosophy during this time and studying science was largely a religious endeavor since it was viewed to be studying God’s creation. Nature was an expression of divine will and knowledge therefore had a divine component. In line with this thinking, which emphasized the place of animals within the spiritual context of the church, the responsibilities of priests often extended to ministering to animals of the parish. Individual animals were important as part of a divine order with humans at the center.

Although some of the early Christian saints, most notably St. Francis, appear to have had compassion for and closeness to animals, this was not the prevalent perspective of the Christian church. St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) argued in his Summa theologiae that since only beings that are rational are capable of determining their actions, they are the only beings towards which we should extend concern “for their own sakes.” Aquinas believed that if a being cannot direct its own actions then others must do so; these sorts of beings are merely instruments. Instruments exist for the sake of people that use them, not for their own sake. Since animals cannot direct their own actions, they are merely instruments and exist for the sake of the human beings that direct their actions. Aquinas’ views follow from the idea that God is the “alpha” and the “omega,” the beginning and end of the universe, and that it is only by using the human intellect that one can gain knowledge and understanding of God.

In this early age of science, research into the natural world was an examination of the orderly world created by God and consisted of reporting direct observation. Natural scientists believed their responsibility was to report what they saw as impartial recorders of fact and offer rational interpretations of these observations.