Should Animal Experimentation Ever Be Permitted?

Peter Singer, an author and philosophy professor, “argues that because animals have nervous systems and can suffer just as much as humans can, it is wrong for humans to use animals for research, food, or clothing” (Singer 17). Do animals have any rights? Is animal experimentation ethical? These are questions many struggle with day in and day out in the ongoing battle surrounding the controversial topic of animal research and testing, known as vivisection. Throughout centuries medical research has been conducted on animals.

There are many campaigns around the world which reject these tests and request the alternatives. They believe that this kind of experimentation is harmful for people as much as it is cruel to animals while others argue these experiments are substantial for humans live as they are used in important medical research. In this project I will present different areas of this hotly debated issue with an important clarification of the history of animals testing and the common use of it with outlining both negative and positive aspects of them. Then, I will offer possible alternatives to these experiments . 2.

Some argue that animal testing is needed to advance in medicine. Scientists say that millions of lives have been saved thanks to animal testing. On the other hand, people disagree with these claims. The animal rights activists do not believe in using animals in experiments. They think it is unnecessary cruelty to animals.

For centuries mankind has experimented on animals for a number of different reasons. Early experimentation with animals was originally born out of curiosity but eventually became a necessity to find medicines to cure viruses and a myriad of illnesses. If not for the existence of animals, humans would be left to experiment on themselves at a high rate which would create a worldwide moral dilemma. Such a dilemma could be dictated based on the question of who should be chosen for experimentation; should it be a particular race or class of people? Animals commonly used in medical research are rats and chimpanzees.

The government even requires certain animal experimentation on specific products such as pesticides. There is also much dispute on whether or not animal testing is actually reliable in research for human products and diseases. The issue of animal testing becomes an issue of ethics; do humans have the right to harm other species for their own benefits? This would be a much easier question to answer if people actually knew how relevant and useful animal experimentation and research was for humans. As of right now, humans are harming animals in experimentation without even knowing how valuable the results will be in benefiting human research.

Is animal research ethical, is it accurate, and are there other methods available to take the place of animal research? Animals are being mistreated and there in no need for it. There are too many other options available for research which is more accurate and humane. Animal testing still an option/Types of test being used Although animal research is not used as much, the number of animals being used remains substantial, with estimates ranging anywhere from 10 million to over 100 million per... ... middle of paper ... ...uk/science/hottopics/animalexperiments/index.shtml Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing, John Hopkins University. (2003) Retrieved April 4, 2004 from http://caat.jhsph.edu/ National Anti-Vivisection Society.

Daniel G. Hackam, M.D., and Donald A. Redelmeier, M.D., “Translation of Research Evidence From Animals to Human,” The Journal of the American Medical Association 296 (2006): 1731-2. Marlene Simmons et al., “Cancer-Cure Story Raises New Questions,” Los Angeles Times 6 May 1998. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “FDA Issues Advice to Make Earliest Stages of Clinical Drug Development More Efficient,” FDA News Release 12 Jan. 2006. "Types of Animal Testing." -The American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS).

Experimenting on humans is inhumane and completely immoral, while animals that do not function in the same way humans do should be used in medical research and to test the safety of various products. If animal testing were illegal, how would worldly corporations determine the safety of products? Surely the valuable lives of human beings are not essential to risk, hence the reason that animal experimenting is necessary. In addition, medical research would be in great jeopardy if were animals were not permitted to be experimented on. Medical industries have already come so far in treating multiple ailments due to the tests performed on animals.

This has created several controversies between animal rights activists and cosmetic manufacturers. Especially in the European Union Council of Ministers where they want to ban animal testing as soon as they can develop enough alternatives (Milmo, 6). This is because several animals are used in experimentations to test if products are safe for us to use. Tests like the Draize Irritancy and Skin Tests, where products are put in the eyes of rabbits to test irritations, and the LD50, where several animals are exposed to a chemical are considered ways of torture. But luckily several corporations are discovering new and reliable ways to replace animals with science and technology to help reduce the amount of animals used.

The Advantages of Animal Experimentation It is the general consensus of the populous that it would be unethical to experiment on humans first, and that some other method of safety testing is required prior to human experimentation. Animal testing was found to be this step. In fact, animal models provide a means for scientists to discover new treatments and drug... ... middle of paper ... ...imal experimentation did. Furthermore, I agree that the use of animals models is unreliable because of the stress lab animals are under, the fact that they are poor predictors of human results and that the test populations are not representative of the populations that will be receiving the products. I am also in agreement that animal experimentation is immoral.