The Morality of Animal Testing in Scientific Research Animal testing is not a new thing. For many centuries scientists and testers in research have used animals of all kinds. Most of the animals are small ones like rodents - rats, mice, hamsters and gerbils. Some dogs, cats and a variety of goats, monkeys and rabbits have also been used. The animal rights issue is an emotional one. For decades the value of animal research has been grossly overrated. Although researchers claim that they depend on animal test data to achieve medical advances, we should demand other means of research and there should be laws assuring a minimum level of animal protection because testing on animals is cruel, inhumane, and often unnecessary. The American Medical Association has stated that it believes that research involving animals is essential to maintaining and improving the health of human beings. They point out that all advances in medical science in the 20th century, from antibiotics to organ transplants, has been achieved either directly or indirectly through the use of animals in laboratory experiments. Arguments for animal experimentation may question the morality, necessity, and validity of these studies. The moral issue on animal experimentation concerns the need to protect human life and to improve the quality of life. The gains in human health and well being outweigh the cost in animal suffering (which nonetheless should be kept to a minimum), in this viewpoint. It would be immoral to conduct such tests on humans, and so animals serve as our stand-ins for many kinds of testing and research. Those who support animal testing may care deeply about animals but don't place them on an equal status with humans. Research on animals may be de... ... middle of paper ... ...n’t react the same towards drugs as humans would. This causes suffering to animals for no reason at all. Most cosmetics require test to be done to see if they will be safe for human use. How would we be able to tell if these products will cause skin irritation or blindness or even cancer without using some form of tests. Although there are many alternative to product testing, animals are most likely to produce accurate results on what the product may do to humans. However, blindness, skin irritations and cancer are all very severe and we should try to find more accurate alternative without having to torture these animals so much. So until scientists learn a little more about humans and technology increases more, we probably couldn’t do without animal research and testing completely but we need to try to keep it at a minimum and as necessary and proper as possible.
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Show MoreTesting animals is used to develop medical treatments, determine the toxicity of medicinal drugs, check the safety of products intended for human use, and other biomedical, commercial, and healthcare roles. The earliest recordings of animal studies date back to Aristotle, who discovered the anatomical differences among animals by analyzing them (Introduction). Advocates of animal testing say that it has enabled the growth of numerous medical advancements, tests to see if new products are save for mankind, acquisition of new scientific knowledge, and because it is accurate (B). Opponents of animal testing say that it is cruel and inhumane to try out on animals, many animals die from the animal testing, it’s unethical, animals don’t have a say in it, the accuracy is in question because they are testing animals and not humans, and the toll of animal testing is high (B). Through the pros and cons of everything, it is bad to test animals because animals are very different from human beings and thus make poor test subjects and are unreliable, the cost and upkeep of it is expensive, and because there are alternatives to animal testi...
Animal testing is a largely debated and controversial issue. It was first introduced in the United States in the 1920s (Goldberg 85). Since then, there have been many advances in the field of medicine and science. These advances are due largely to the fact that animals are used in experiments and research. Animal testing has given doctors some of their most successful accomplishments. Also, they help researchers discover how to improve long known theories about the human mind and body. Over 40 Nobel Prizes have been given to researchers “whose achievements depended, at least in part, on using laboratory animals” (Trull 64). These animal experiments have helped humans live a better life. Animal testing benefits doctors...
Animals should not be used as test subjects for any research. The innocent and helpless animals’ rights are being violated when they are involved during animal experimentation. These unfortunate animals do not have a choice whether or not they want to be involved in testing. They are not intended for people to experiment on for their own selfish reasons. It is not right to take advantage of the animals because they are helpless and cannot protect themselves. Animals and humans have similarities; they both behave, feel, think, and experience pain. Therefore, animals should be treated with the same respect as humans. The pain and suffering an animal is forced to endure is not worth any new product. It is cruel and inhumane to take advantage of an innocent animal. These tests that use animals to ensure the safety of products are extremely common without people even knowing about it. It is not fair to these animals to abuse their beauty. They are helpless and cannot control what is happening to them. Animal experimentation should be stopped because it violates the rights of animals and harms or even kills the animals.
Although animal research is a shareholder in the development of medicine and the advance of cosmetic and household products, it is still not legitimate to abuse those creatures to satisfy human needs and wants. Alternatives have been initiated to relinquish the use of non-human beings since it is against animal rights. Animal testing should be prohibited and new methods should be introduced to non-medical institutions like the cosmetic industries and the household production enterprises. Laboratories should take ease of technology to supersede animals by upgraded alternatives that can help in the development of new treatments that may be more efficient. Personally, I think animal testing is a cruel nature that cannot be justified. Why sacrifice those defenseless lives if superior methods are available?
When you reach for a cosmetic product or even medication you do so in confidence that these products have been tested and are safe for you to use. You use these products knowing that they have been tested repeatedly, but do you know how they have been tested? It turns out that many of the products that you use every day such as cosmetics and even medication have been tested thoroughly on animals (Abbot). These test that are being ran are supposed to be for our safety but in many cases “the results of testing on animals are different from the results of testing on humans because we have different physiologies and metabolisms” (Callanan 20). These test on animals are not only unnecessary and sometimes give false results but they cause harm to
Animal testing has been used for developing and researching cures for medical conditions. For example, the polio vaccine, chemotherapy for cancer, insulin treatment for diabetes, organ transplants and blood transfusions are just some of the important advances that have come from research on animals (“Animal Testing”). Consuming animals for research benefits in developing various treatments and also benefits in discovery better methods for cures. According to the article “Animal Testing”, it says that the underlying rationale for the use of animal testing is that living organisms provide interactive, dynamic systems that scientists can observe and manipulate in order to understand normal and pathological functioning as well as the effectiveness of medical interventions. It relies on the physiological and anatomical similarities between humans and other animals (MacClellan, Joel). Meaning that animals have the same body components and features as humans and is the best thing to research on to better understand the human development. Even though several argue that animal testing is harming the animals, one has to think back to all the benefits that has come from it. There may be a little remorse for endangering animal lives, but realizing how far medicine has come makes it worth the while.
Each year in the United States close to 26 million animals including, mice, rabbits, cats, dogs, and most commonly chimpanzees are tested both for scientific research and conventional research. Animals are tested in treatments to determine how a drug or treatment will affect a human being, and several more health care purposes. This is nothing new though, animal testing has been practiced since 500 BC. Animal testing is both morally and ethically wrong and needs to be put to a stop.
Every year, more and more diseases and sicknesses need cures. The need for new medicine and treatments procedures causes animal research to increase. People that are involved in the fight for animal rights say that the animals should be protected just like humans. However, animal testing can find cures for deadly sick humans, which is more important than the very rare unfair abuse to animals. Animal testing should be allowed because although it can be bothersome to some animals, the outcomes are exaggerated, it creates procedures, and it helps find a cure to human health problems.
...ts on animals. China is also in the process of decreasing the amount of animal tested products in circulation as well (“Cosmetics and House-Hold Products Animal Testing”). Even though there are alternatives to using animals in this testing, companies in the United States still continue to torture animals for the sake of beauty. There are plenty more ways to experiment with products that do not involve animals in any way, and these tests also produce more reliable information. According to Earth Protect, Tests like this are often cheaper and produce faster results than animal research ever has. For example, there is a model of human cornea tissues that can be subject to eye irritation experiments instead of a rabbit, and there are models of skin cells that can be used for skin irritation tests instead of guinea pigs (“Cosmetic Animal Testing Facts and Alternatives”).
For centuries, the use of animal experimentation in the biomedical field has been questioned ethically. Do the benefits of animals used in research outweigh the pain that the animals endure? Animal rights activists will argue that there are new alternatives that are more accurate than animal testing. Nonetheless, scientists will continue to use animals for the advancement in the medical field because there have been various cases where animals have paved the way, medically, for humans to this day. Additionally, testing on animals instead of humans puts humans out of harms way. The first Animal Cruelty Act was created in 1835 to regulate the use of animals for scientific purposes. According to Franco (2013), the “Enactment of the 1986 Animals
Animal testing has been a highly debated topic in recent years. There are many people who have finally started to speak their minds and tell how they feel about testing on animals. But just as there are those who oppose animal testing, there are those who fully support it. A majority of people who do not support animal testing provide valid facts and information for why it is not needed. Some of the facts that they provide revolve around the conditions that the animals have to endure in the testing labs. The Animal Welfare Act lays out rules about how animals are allowed to be tortured, beaten, maimed, and all sorts of other things as long as they get pain relief. Those who oppose animal testing also provide facts that show how unreliable the
Animal testing has brought some very important medical techniques and products within our grasps. However, there are many pros and cons, and the subject will continue to be a sensitive one. We as humans have a responsibility to respect and protect the animals as well as each other. Think of your family pet. Animals do have personalities and feelings. Think of your loved ones. Humans need medical care to survive. This is a hard issue to make decisions about. Human health is important, but we must strive to establish ways of improving human health without involving helpless animals.
The practice of using animals for testing has been a controversial issue over the past thirty years. Animal testing is a morally debated practice. The question is whether animal testing is morally right or wrong. This paper will present both sides of this issue as well as my own opinion.
Animals have held an important spot in many of our lives. Some people look at animals as companions and others see them as a means of experimental research and medical advancement. With the interest to gain knowledge, physicians have dissected animals. The ethics of animal testing have always been questioned because humans do not want to think of animals on the same level as humans. Incapable of our thinking and unable to speak, animals do not deserve to be tested on by products and be conducted in experiments for our scientific improvement. Experimentation on animals is cruel, unfair, and does not have enough beneficial results to consider it essential.
A large issue is animal testing. “More than 25 million vertebrate animals are used in testing in the United States each year. When invertebrate animals are thrown into the mix, the estimated number rises to as high as 100 million.”(dosomething) The laboratory testing of animals is important to biomedical research, product safety testing, and education. Biomedical researchers use animals to extend their understanding of the workings of the body and the processes of disease and health, and to develop new vaccines and treatments for various diseases for humans and other animals. However, the morality, the necessity, or the validity of the studies are questionable. Thousands of animals are helplessly killed every year that animal testing is being conducted. “Ninety-four percent of animal testing is done to determine the safety of cosmetics and household products leaving only 6% for medical research” (about my planet). This can cause harm to the animals and may in turn be fatal. It is not fair nor is it humane to conduct experiments on animals to make sure a product or procedure is safe for us. There are no reasons to regard an animal’s life as if it is insignificant in contrast to a human life. During the testing, animals may be force fed or put in restraints in order for the scientists to get the product into their systems. Ani...