The Necessity of Animal Testing

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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. The types of experiments performed at the University of Buffalo and the University of California depicts just some of the few horrors of animal testing. According to the article, during these experimentations the eyes of monkeys were implanted with metal coils into their eye sockets in order to study movement ("Update: Animal Testing"). Often times animals are tested upon in laboratories, living in cold isolated environments. The moral aspect of the debate, is whether or not animals should be utilized and later euthanized for the purpose of human benefit, especially when only one party decides. As a resu... ... middle of paper ... ...minate the Need for Animal Experimentation." Animal Experimentation. Ed. Susan C. Hunnicutt. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "Avoiding Animal Testing: Advances in Cell-Culture Technologies are Paving the Way to the Complete Elimination of Animals from the Laboratory." The Scientist (Nov.-Dec. 2011). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. "Update: Animal Testing." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 31 Mar. 2006. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. . "Using Animals for Medical Testing Is Unethical and Unnecessary." The Ethics of Medical Testing. Ed. Tamara Thompson. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Animal Experiments: Overview." People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals [PETA]. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

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