The Cruelty of Animal Research, Testing, and Experimentation

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The Cruelty of Animal Testing and the Need for Alternative Methods

In his book Inhumane Society: The American Way of Exploiting Animals, Dr. Michael W. Fox estimates that twenty-five to thirty-five million animals are used in the United States each year for laboratory testing and research (58). Research involving tests done on animals is unnecessary and cruel. More humane methods of research need to be employed.

Fox states that animal tests on cosmetics and household products are nothing more than a "public relations campaign to dispel public concern and give a false sense of security" (61). Laboratory animals are needlessly exploited and made to suffer cruelly in the name of research and testing. Fox also states that most companies that are continuing to test products on animals do so only because they do not want to have to begin putting warning labels on products that might alarm the consumers (61).

According to the book 67 Ways to Save the Animals by Anna Sequoia, there are many cosmetics companies, such as Revlon and Avon, that have stopped testing their products on animals. However, there are still companies, such as Gillette, that continue to test their products on animals (26).

Many animal tests were formulated back in the 1920s and 1930s. These tests are still being used today. According to the journal by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), published in March of 1995, many tests are still being used even though they are not terribly effective (9).

Anna Sequoia states that one test that is currently being used is called the Draize Acute Eye Irritancy Test. This test is done primarily on albino rabbits, because the albino rabbit is docile and cheap, and because its eyes do not produce te...

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...Luan Adams stated that she would not buy from any company that tested its products on animals. She is not alone. There are many people in the world that have made the same decision; I am one of them. Companies will have to start realizing that animal testing is not the way to gain credibility. As it is said in the October 1995 edition of PETA, "the question is not can animals reason?, nor can they talk?, but can they suffer?" (15).

Works Cited

Adams, Luan. Personal interview. 15 Apr. 1997.

"Animal Testing is Animal Cruelty." PETA: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Mar. 1995: 9-12.

Fox, Dr. Michael W. Inhumane Society: The American Way of Exploiting Animals. New York: St. Martin's, 1990.

PETA: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Oct. 1995:15.

Sequoia, Anna. 67 Ways to Save the Animals. New York: Harper Collins, 1990.

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