Argumentative Essay On Animal Testing

1482 Words3 Pages

Imagine living your whole life in a tiny cage without any sign of ever being free again. This is the life of animals used in experimental research. Animal testing is used to find out the safety and effectiveness of everything from medication to cosmetics. It has been proven that more than 25 million animals with vertebrae are used in medical research annually. To fully grasp what animal testing is, a brief look into the history is needed. “Animals have been used repeatedly throughout the history of biomedical research. Early Greek physician-scientists, such as Aristotle, (384 – 322 BC) and Erasistratus, (304 – 258 BC), performed experiments on living animals. Likewise, Galen (129 – 199 / 217 AD), a Greek physician who practiced in Rome …show more content…

In some cases, animal testing proves successful in finding cures for diseases and the safety of the cosmetics put on the shelves at many stores around the world; on the other hand, the life of an animal is in the hands of someone else; making this a very controversial subject because of this. Many believe that the animals have the right to live and enjoy life as they please.
Because there is new technology that could perform the research without harming animals, there are people who are completely opposed to the treatment these animals endure. In the Alternatives to animal testing: current status and future perspectives (2011) it is stated that, ZEBET is in favor of products based on alternative methods to evaluate the safety involved in chemicals or biological products used for many things. They are against the traditional testing of live …show more content…

The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) (7 U.S.C. § 2131) is the only U.S. federal law that covers these animals in research. However, the AWA provides minimal protection for certain species while excluding others such as rats, mice, and birds bred for researches (who constitute an estimated 90-95% of animals in laboratories). Organizations such as PETA, The European Coalition to End Animal Experiments (ECEAE), The Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics, Johns Hopkins University Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT), and The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), out of many others, are working hard to raise awareness and protect the rights of the

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