Every year thousands of mice, dogs, primates and other animals are victims of vivisection all over the world. These experiments are inhumane, ineffective, and absolutely pointless when there are alternate testing methods. These animals undergo painful suffering, and sometimes death as a result of scientific research into the effects of drugs, cosmetics, food additives, and other chemical products. Animal testing is an act of barbarism, the fact that animals are being bred to be a victim of crude experiments and then euthanized is cruel. An Eye Irritancy Test is a test in which albino rabbits have a substance entered into their eyes that are held open with clips for seven to eighteen days. The rabbits are confined in stocks with only their heads protruding while experimenters record the damage of the eye tissue which can vary to being swollen eyelids, inflamed irises, ulceration, bleeding, massive deterioration, and blindness. Many rabbits break their necks as they struggle to escape from the pain. Another savage test is an Acute Toxicity Test, also known as lethal doses, or poisoning tests. This test determines the amount of a substance that will kill a percentage of a group of test animals. Substances are forced into the animal’s body by tubes to the stomach, cuts to the throat, introduced to the eyes, mixed into food or inhaled through a gas mask. Reactions to this test can include convulsions, heavy breathing, diarrhea, constipation, emaciation, contortion, skin eruptions, and bleeding. The testing period continues until at least half of the animals die, approximately two to four weeks. Keep in mind, anesthesia is absent during these procedures. While I realize many people want their make-up, medicines, and other product... ... middle of paper ... ...nation with effective results. Using mathematical combinations, unnecessary tests would not need to be performed on animals (Animal Testing: Toxic & Tragic). Using corneas from eye banks is a substitute that would relieve animals from Eye Irritancy Tests. Eye banks carry corneas from the deceased, whether it be human or animal. Using these corneas would be a faster and less stressful way for scientists to get better results and not have to worry about the pain of animals. Animals should not be victims of vivisection when they have just as much of a right to be here as we do. The money used for animal testing could be used for a project with better potential. Animal testing should not be acceptable considering all the alternatives that technology has the power to do. The abuse of animals in medical experiments is a flaw on humanity, the sooner we end it, the better.
The roots of animal experimentation began in the early 1600s when the world expressed in interests on the functions of animals and their uses in human life. However, it wasn’t until the incident regarding the drug thalidomide in 1960 did the government make it a requirement for drugs be tested on animals. During the incident, millions of women took the medication believing that it would be a source of relieve from morning sickness, not knowing however that it would cause irrevocable effects on their unborn children (Watson 4). Although the ruling seemed to provide a sigh of relief to some, the very idea of placing animals in strange uncomfortable environments and experiencing pain and euthanasia angered many. According to the American Anti-Vivisection Society, commonly known as AAVS, It is wrong to treat animals as objects for the purpose of scientific research, and to cause them pain and suffering (“Animal Research Is Unethical and Scientifically Unnecessary”). Although the arguments against animal experimentation seem credible, animal testing on medicines and products are necessary in order to insure the safety of human beings.
Every year over 100 million animals die in the US; the cause for these deaths, animal testing. This injustice to animals involves testing products such as medical drugs or makeup, on poor imprisoned animals that don’t have the ability to stand for their own rights as most of us do. Animals used for testing are given products that may result in burning, poisoning, or death. These animals are forced to live in confined spaces where they wait until the next horrible experiment. They are, tortured beyond imagination as they are sometimes even cut open while they are alive (know as vivisection), either with expired analgesics or even without them.
She sits alone in a threadbare, chilly, metal cage. Her eyes dart around wondering when the next torture will commence. If the testing fails to kill her, the stress definitely will. Entering is the doctor who plans to perform an eye irritancy test. The rabbit’s eyes will be held open with clips for at least three days if she survives that long (“Frequently Asked Questions”). Similarly, if these procedures would be performed on a human, they would be considered illegal. Yet, scientists continue to make harmless animals suffer incessantly. Annually, countless animals are abused in American test labs; however, alternative practices should be implemented in order to participate in worldwide trade, save innocent lives, and provide more accurate data.
In opposition of Hippocrates, others believe animals cannot be entitled to rights because they have no understanding and that testing on them is a necessity. A treatment to prevent scarring and loss of vision after glaucoma surgery will soon be tried on patients. This was made possible using rabbits. Following successful studies on mice and rats, a vaccine for malaria is now being tested on people.
While animal testing has led to many life-saving cures, animal testing is cruel and inhumane because it involves inflicting pain and harm on the test subject to study its effects and remedies. Testing involves physically restraining; force-feeding; and depriving animals of food and water. They are forcibly given toxic substances and pain relief is never an option. Killing the animals at the end of the testing is common practice since the animals are no longer useful. In one example, rabbits acted as test subjects to test the eye irritation of certain shampoos. The bunnies were restrained; their eyelids forced open with clips for days and the shampoos were applied. Some of the test subjects
The animal being tested on is tied up so that movement is restricted. They are not given any pain killers or anything. Substances are dripped into the eyes of the animal, (usually rabbits in eye tests), and results are recorded over a period of three to twenty days. Some reactions result in irritation or blindness. Rabbit eyes have thinner corneas, and are more sensitive to inflammation than human eyes.
"Problems with Animal Research." -The American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS). The American Anti-Vivisection Society, 2013. Web. 07 Dec. 2013.
PETA states that, since before the 1920’s there has been animal experimentation. Not until President Lyndon Johnson signed the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act (LAWA) in 1966, animals in the United States had no protection in laboratories, circuses, and zoos over breeding, transportation, housing, feeding, and veterinary care. The LAWA is now called the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). (Williams, and DeMello)
One of the largest controversies involving the testing on animals is the harm that is inflicted on them. Proof lies in the many leaked photographs showing the horrific pain that has been forced onto beings that cannot speak for themselves. A test called Lethal Dose 50%, or LD50, is a test to assess cosmetics such as lipstick, nail polish, skin care products, and others. This can leave the rabbits, dogs, mice, or other unfortunate animals left crippled with severe untreated chemical burns. During the assessment of the product the animals are force...
Animal testing is the use of non-human animals for scientific experimentation. There are estimates that 50 to 100 million vertebrate animals worldwide from zebra fish to on-human primates are used annually. Much larger numbers of invertebrates are used even flies and worms are used has model organisms are very important, experiments on invertebrates are largely unregulated and not included in statistics. Animals are euthanized after being used in a experiment. Some of these animals are purpose-bred and others are caught in the wild or they are supplied by dealers who obtain them from auctions and pounds. The testing on the animals are conducted inside universities, medical schools, pharmaceutical companies, farms, defense establishments and commercial facilities that provide animal-testing services to industry. Some of the tests that researchers do on the animals are biomedical research transplantation, drug testing and toxicology test, cosmetics and other animals are used for directional research, breeding and defense research. Organizations like PETA and BUVA thinks it it not a necessity for this testings. They think is is cruel, poor scientific practice, poorly regulated and that animals used for experimentations have an intrinsic right not be be used for experimentation. Many Americans don’t agree with testing on animals. Testing animals is wrong and they are just poor helpless animals and they die every day. They are testing animals with products such has soap, household cleaners, drugs, cosmetics, pesticides and other chemicals. Drug tests that are done on animals that pass the test end up harming or killing humans. Lists of animals that get tested daily are cats, dogs, monkeys, mice, and rabbits. The researchers test these ...
One of the many painful tests administered to animals in laboratories is the Draize Test. This experiment, introduced forty-five years ago by FDA toxicologist John H. Draize, "is used to measure the harmfulness of chemicals found in household products and cosmetics by observing the damage they cause to the eyes and skin of animals" (Products, 1, 97). The brutal results of these series of tests (usually on rabbits) leave animals with mutilated, blind, or ulcerated eyes. At the end of these immoral tests, the animals are all killed to study their internal anatomy. Products, 97.
Hundreds of millions of animals die every year from animal testing in the United States. Innocent animals are used everyday in laboratories for biology advancements, medical training, curiosity-driven experimentation, and chemical, drug, food, and cosmetic testing. They are used to provide information to make better products that are safe for human use. Although animal experimentation has some benefits, the negatives outweigh the positives. Animal testing is killing off innocent beings for the possible human benefit, and with modern technology, there are alternative ways to test products that leave animals unharmed.
The people claim that, animal testing infringes animal’s rights, makes animal suffering in the experiments, and some of animal experiments may never be useful to human beings. This is true, but we cannot stop animal testing. According to the article “Facts about Animal Research” by Cook (2006), the smallpox has disappeared from the earth because scientists get vaccines from cows. Also, the scientists got insulin, which is the only drug, which can control diabetes, from dogs and fish. Many medicines are related to medical animal experiments, we cannot give up medical animal experiments.
To predict the effect it will have on humans, many different tests are performed on animals. A test created by John Draize, called the Draize eye test, is tested for eye irritancy. This test looks for the damage that chemicals may cause to the eyes. During the test, a substance is placed in a rabbit’s eye and the rabbit is observed in intervals. There are many consequences such as bleeding, ulcers, and blindness for up to three weeks and may even result in the death of the animal (aavs). Of the several experiments performed on animals for research purposes, they all appear to affect the animal
For many years there has been controversy whether or not animals should be tested on between scientists and animal right supporters. It is very debatable if animals should be tested on when a cure for a disease could be found from testing on animals. From my own personal view I have a huge heart for animals, but if we can not find other alternatives, and is possible we can find cures for diseases, then animals may be used for research, but only for medical reasons.