Animal Testing

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The ethics behind using animals for experiments and tests has been questioned and debated for years. Many people believe that animal experimentations can be crucial towards medical breakthroughs such as the cure for cancer, HIV/AIDS or asthma. Meanwhile others argue that animals that are used to test cosmetics such as make-up and perfumes are inhuman because is not going to help improve the human race. Animals suffer through multiple types of torture such as being forced to ingest poisonous chemicals, blinded, burned, stapled, and infected with disease viruses. Even though animal experimentation may be considered inhumane to many, animal experimentation is crucial to advancements in medical research and can lead to a better quality of life; on the other hand, animal experimentation should not be used to develop cosmetics because such experimentation is cruel and unnecessary. Every year millions of animals such as rabbits, cats, and mice are used to test new products such as cosmetics, household cleaners, and medicines that often lead to poisoning and even death. In China, it is required that all products are tested on animals before being released to the public; on the contrary, the United States does not have this same requirement (Facts). As a result of the Animal Welfare Act being signed- making it illegal to test on humans- scientists use animals because the tests are similar to human testing. Only 6% of animals used in assessing the safety of new medicines and vaccines suffer in great pain because using anesthetics would alter the validity of the data (Kanade). Animal testing is the most effective technique for evaluating medicine and cosmetics because the animal’s anatomy is similarly structured to humans. Mice are the mos... ... middle of paper ... ...Mar. 2013. Web. 27 Nov. 2013. "Fact Sheet: Cosmetic Testing." The Humane Society of the United States. 30 May 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. Kanade, Shrinivas. "Animal Testing Statistics." Buzzle. 17 Oct. 2011. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. McCarthy, Claire. “Dog Lab” The Blair Reader: Exploring Issues and Ideas. Ed. Laurie G. Kirzner and Stephen R. Mandell. 8th ed. New York: Prentice Hall, 2013. 479-485. Print. McKay, Michele. "The Cruelty of Lab Animal Testing." Down to Earth. N.p., 2012. Web. 27 Nov. 2013. Rincon, Paul. "Mouse genome laid bare to science." BBC News. N.p., 27 May 2009. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. Sun, Shany. "The Truth Behind Animal Testing." Young Scientists Journal 5.12 (2012): 83-85. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. Wright, G. and S. hoagland. Counterpoint: Animal testing is cruel and immoral regardless of the benefits associated with it. Print. 25 Nov. 2013

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