Is Animal Testing Right?
Position: For Animal Rights
What makes it morally acceptable to take another creatures’ life just so we can improve our so called ‘quality of life’, and in the process make them suffer just as we would? In my opinion animals have the right to be treated as beings of value in themselves, because they too feel pain. Even though sometimes animals are seen to be of less value and importance, it doesn’t mean it is right to use them for medical experimentation or product testing. These animals are sensitive, living beings that deserve to be free. Reduction, refinement & replacement, are a set of principles that scientists are encouraged to follow in order to reduce the impact of research on animals. In order to reduce the number of animals used in experiments, scientists attempt to improve experimental techniques of data analysis and sharing of information with other researchers for the benefit of the animals. To Refine experimentation &/or the way in which animals are cared for, scientists attempt to use less offensive techniques, more satisfactory living conditions and better medical care. Due to the fact that animal experimenting is illegal in most countries; scientists have had no other way but to replace experiments on animals with alternative techniques such as: cell structures instead of whole animals, using computer models and human volunteers. Scientists say that banning animal experiments would mean either, an end to testing new drugs or using human beings for all safety tests. However, results that come from the medicinal testing, do not show that drugs are safe and effective. Instead they are used to help decide whether a particular drug should be tested on humans. Researchers use animal testing ...
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... and DNA. These methods cost much less, and are much more effective and reliable. Some examples include: The Modular IMune in vitro, human cells in vitro, 3-D in vitro and human based brain imaging and recording techniques.
I personally think it is morally wrong and cruel to experiment on animals as we have no natural right to subject them against their will to what we ourselves call brutal practices. While there are numerous pros and cons of animal testing, the ethical aspect overshadows both of them, which means that emotion may be the ultimate determining factor in whether a person believes the benefits of animal testing outweigh the problems associated with the practice. As we do not own them, we have no right to torture them because there are many safer and much more reliable alternatives that would eliminate the pain and suffering the animals go through.
There is a moral blind spot in the treatment of animals that enable us to justify the cruelties for the perceived benefits of humans. Animals are living things. They have lungs which breathe, hearts which beat, and blood that flows. In fact, animals sense of smell, sight, and sound is much more acute than our own. Therefore, we can assume that their sensitivity to pain is at least equal to ours. According to Hippocrates, “The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different.” This can go with the Duty Theory that states that every individual gets treated the same. The intentions of animal testing is not to harm the animals, but that is exactly what it does.
Every year thousands of animals are euthanized due to animal testing such as cosmetic testing, medical testing, and dissection. (A Critical Look at Animal Experimentation) (Types of Animal Testing) Some of the things we use every day such as; make up, soap, furniture polish, and varieties of cleaning supplies, are tested on rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs, cats, and other animals. (Animal Testing) Cosmetic testing is used to test a product and its ingredients, medical testing finds cures for different illnesses; and dissection is used to help high school students in science classes have a better understanding of the class or students undergoing the medical field in college. (Animal Experimentation) Animal testing is not required by law; it is only used to protect companies from consumer lawsuits, provided new research for diseases, and provide a visual learning experiment for students. (A Critical Look at Animal Experimentation) It has been proven that there are more reliable and less expensive alternatives to animal testing, such as; computer models and cell and tissue tests. Animal experimentation should be eliminated because it is an inhumane method for testing purposes.
A law that many of us seem to be breaking; testing on animals for our own benefit is quite possibly the most disgusting thing any of us could take part in. Surely any self-aware being would be conscious of the crime being committed the universal felony of putting another being behind your own selfish desires. Excuses like “it’s for the greater good” and “we are above animals” are grotesque. If torture is for the greater good, then I’m not so sure that the greater good is something I want to see. Curing diseases at the cost of animal lives is immoral, and nobody has the right to make that decision.
Animals are used as a part of experimentations in order to accomplish new openings. A few individuals think that it is satisfactory, while others contend that it is not moral to sacrifice animals for science. Estimated, that fifty to one hundred million of animals are used for tests in the world. Despite the significance of experiments, the quantity of animals and purpose of research are not under any control. Animals testing should be banned under a few circumstances; we can enhance the situation by using alternative ways such as replacement, reduction, and refinement according to International Society for Applied Ethology.
In modern society, animal experimentation has triggered a controversy; consequently, vast amount of protests have been initiated by the animal rights community. Although these organizations have successfully broadcast their concerns toward animal experimentation, its application continues to survive. Sally Driscoll and Laura Finley inform that there remain fifty million to one-hundred million animals that experience testing or experimentation throughout the world on a yearly basis. But despite opposition, animal experimentation, the use of experiments on animals in order to observe the effects an unknown substance has on living creatures, serves multiple purposes. Those particular purposes are: research of the living body, the testing of products, and the advancement of medicine.
This brings disvalue to the animals. According to the definition of the Utilitarianism, action is right if and only if it maximizes value, which means happiness, and minimizes disvalue, which means suffer. In the cases of animal experiments, human beings are enjoying the output of new products or therapy after testing on animals. This can maximize the happiness of human beings about having a new product or therapy. However, there are suffer from the animals which are used for the animal tests. According to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, millions of animals are suffered from the painful and stress from the animal experiments. Most of them died due to the chemical, drug, food and cosmetics tests. The amount of suffer from the experiments is much more than the happiness from the consumer. If an action cannot maximize happiness and minimize suffer, it is not morally right. So, animal experiment is morally wrong. Refers to Golden Rule, we should treat others as the way we want to be treated. However, there is no people want to be locked into a cage and live under a pressured environment. If the animals are put into a small cage and facing different experiments every single day without any help from human, this is violating the Golden Rule. We are not treating them in the way that we want to be treated. But there are people argue that animals are not human beings. They do not have
Essentially we are torturing the animals for a negative outcome, both for the human and the animal. The Food and Drug Administration reports that “92 out of every 100 drugs that pass animal tests fail in humans” (“Top Five Reasons”). If the products and drugs that we are testing on the animals are not working then there is no use in harming a harmless animal. Some may disagree and say that animal testing has enabled us to develop many life-saving treatments for both humans and animals. But in reality, there are more cons than pros in animal testing.
vivisection Animal Research and Testing, Is it Ethical? “It is a simple fact that many, if not most, of today’s modern medical miracles would not exist if experimental animals had not been available to medical scientists. It is equally a fact that, should we as a society decide the use of animal subjects is ethically unacceptable and therefore must be stopped, medical progress will slow to a snail’s pace. Such retardation will in itself have a huge ethical ‘price tag’ in terms of continued human and animal suffering from problems such as diabetes, cancer, degenerative cardiovascular diseases, and so forth.” Dr. Simmonds, a veterinarian who specializes in the care of laboratory animals, is one of many who believe that animal testing is an ethical practice.
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.
Every year, millions of animals experience painful, suffering and death due to results of scientific research as the effects of drugs, medical procedures, food additives, cosmetics and other chemical products. Basically, animal experimentation has played a dominant role in leading with new findings and human advantages. Animal research has had a main function in many scientific and medical advances in the past decade and is helping in the understanding of several diseases. While most people believe than animal testing is necessary, others are worried about the excessive suffering of this innocent’s creatures. The balance between the rights of animals and their use in medical research is a delicate issue with huge societal assumptions. Nowadays people are trying to understand and take in consideration these social implications based in animals rights. Even though, many people tend to disregard animals that have suffered permanent damage during experimentation time. Many people try to misunderstand the nature of life that animals just have, and are unable to consider the actual laboratory procedures and techniques that these creatures tend to be submitted. Animal experimentation must be excluded because it is an inhumane way of treat animals, it is unethical, and exist safer ways to test products without painful test.
Throughout the years animal rights groups and organizations have frowned upon animal experiments. Animal testing has been thought to be inhumane and cold-hearted to animals. Because of these accusations medical researchers have to suffer threats from individuals and the media. If animal testing weren’t allowed would that be a drawback in advancement in medical research? Animal testing is beneficial to people because these trails lead to improvements in medical research. Animal experiments have led to finding new cures and vaccines to fatal illnesses. Because animal experiments are helpful in making vaccines to prevent these sicknesses, these trails are the reason so many lives are saved. Animal testing is very necessary and useful to people, but animal rights groups believe that these trails doesn’t benefit humanity. According to Ellen Paul, “Breakthroughs in treating injuries, like practically all medical advances, depend upon experimentation on animals.” Animal experiments have given way to many new instruments to fight against diseases like cancer (Paul). For example, mice and other rodents contributed to scientists developing new tools for fighting different forms of cancers (Paul). Animal testing has helped science in many ways, but animal organizations like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) believe that these experiments are cruel to animals. Even though most animals endure some sort of pain during these experiments, the results are very beneficial to people.
Throughout human history, there is no question that animal testing has made a huge impact on biomedical research and the discovery of various cures and diseases. Because the opposition insists that animal testing is still necessary, the issue is a very controversial one and has attracted a lot of debate recently. Despite the fact, it is absurd to sacrifice thousands of animals every year when there better alternatives for biomedical research currently in North American society. With this in mind, Animal testing should be abolished because it is no longer ethical, animal models are not as accurate as human models, and because there are better alternatives.
for the use of animals in research. This has attempted to slow or halt the work
Jeremy Bentham a philosopher and a utilitarian humanitarian once said, “The question is not, “Can they reason?” nor, “Can they talk?” but “Can they suffer?”(the-principles). Why are there so many animals in the world suffering from animal experimentation? Animal experimentation is used in order to test products and to discover new medical research. While animal experimentation is necessary many people believe it is wrong and inhumane. Animal experimentation may be very important but it is questioned whether or not if it is wrong and if there is any way to find substitutions in place of using animals.
There is always a special relationship between humans and animals, and some people will consider and treat their home animals as a part of their family members. In the recent decade, the animal experimentation plays a very significant role for biomedical research. Those animal experimentation allows scientists to do medical research on animals to develop new drugs for saving human life and preventing human suffering from diseases, and it also helps to ensure the safety of the drugs. Since some animal’s biological systems have a remarkable similarity with humans, it is tough to find an effective replacement for animal research. Although most of animal researches bring humans benefit, some people argue that animal research is torturing animals and violating animal rights and it should be banned. In fact, most of the alternative cannot provide accurate and correct information for the scientists, so animals should be allow use in scientific research.