Animal Experimentation : The Necessary Evil

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Animal Experimentation: The Necessary Evil To conduct scientific research, animal experimentation has been utilized since the 1900s; however, in recent years, it’s gaining opposition from Animal Rights Activist (Povey 40). Though the morality of animal experimentation has been questioned by the activist, the procedure is necessary for the advancement of science and medicine. The animal subjects involved in the research are heavily protected under federal laws in order to keep the testing ethical and humane. Every person alive today has benefited, in some way, from animal testing. Since the 1900s, when animal testing became a commonality in medical research, the human life expectancy has increased by almost 60% due to medical advances (Povey 40). If researchers did not acquire information from animal testing, the country would not perceive the human body in the accurate way, therefore, treating it gravely (Pycroft and Marston). Setbacks in medicine would occur without animal research; diseases such as polio, diabetes, or chemotherapy “would kill or cripple thousands,” cause “most of the nation’s 580,000 insulin-dependent [diabetics to] die,” or would not “save children who [have] currently [survived] leukemia.” Furthermore, surgery would be complex, painful, and rare due to the fact that there is no anesthesia which was obtained from animal experimentation (George and Wagner). Analytically, medical advances would not be present without researchers conducting experiments on animals. Along with human benefits, none of the medical advances we have access to today would be possible without the experimentation that requires the use of animals. In order to further medical advances, animal testing must be conducted to discover more method... ... middle of paper ... ...to Reduce the number of animals needed for an experiment, Refine the experiments to minimize the pain caused to the animals, and Replace the use of animals altogether whenever possible. By following this code, the researchers ensure that the experiments are performed ethically and that the results are valid (Povey 53). This multitude of restrictions and laws ensure that the animal experimentation is ethical and causes the least harm on the animals as much as possible. A world without animal research would be a world without pharmaceutical, scientific, and medical advancements. The opposition towards animal testing is insufficient in comparison to the benefits of experiments. The procedures are required to remain ethical and humane by laws and restrictions, are valuable in the progression of science, and will continue to promote the wellbeing of all living creatures.

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