“Animal experiments are part of history, but history is where they belong.” says the Humane Society International on the issue of animal testing. Animal testing has been going on for centuries and many experts are debating the issue (“About”).There are two main things an animal is tested for, new medical technology and beauty products. People against the use of animals for experimentation are called antivivisectionists. Some people say animal testing is cruel and unfair, while scientists argue that they are crucial to the development of medical breakthroughs, such as the discovery of insulin, which has saved countless lives (Rowan, 510). There has always been a debate on whether animals should be used for testing, and both sides have a formidable …show more content…
Animals are protected by laws preventing mistreatment and trained veterinarians inspect testing facilities. All tests have to be approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (Procon.org). Animals are protected under the rules that the test has to have a useful purpose, a limited number of animals, little to no pain, experts testing only and a clear end point (Do Scientists Care? 8).
These tests have shown results. Every discovery since 1916 has been made in animal testing. There are no viable alternatives to animal testing that could yield this many results. 90% of experts support the use of animals in tests. Large associations like the American Cancer Society, and the American Heart Association support using animals in tests. “A cure for cancer is worth a few tested animals” (Procon.org). The most popular animals for testing are chimpanzees and mice, because We share up to 99% of the same body systems. Mice are referred to as “mini humans,” because of their similar body systems. Mice are also the most plentiful and common species in animal testing labs. It is also not worth the risk to test on humans products that could potentially kill them. Animal testing also saves humans, because if the drug, thalidomide, was tested on pregnant animals before it was used on pregnant women, then many babies would not have suffered severe birth defects. Animal testing rules out many possible complications
The roots of animal experimentation began in the early 1600s when the world expressed in interests on the functions of animals and their uses in human life. However, it wasn’t until the incident regarding the drug thalidomide in 1960 did the government make it a requirement for drugs be tested on animals. During the incident, millions of women took the medication believing that it would be a source of relieve from morning sickness, not knowing however that it would cause irrevocable effects on their unborn children (Watson 4). Although the ruling seemed to provide a sigh of relief to some, the very idea of placing animals in strange uncomfortable environments and experiencing pain and euthanasia angered many. According to the American Anti-Vivisection Society, commonly known as AAVS, It is wrong to treat animals as objects for the purpose of scientific research, and to cause them pain and suffering (“Animal Research Is Unethical and Scientifically Unnecessary”). Although the arguments against animal experimentation seem credible, animal testing on medicines and products are necessary in order to insure the safety of human beings.
The information that animals have provided scientists over the past decades has changed society, and is still changing society for the better. Millions of lives have been saved with the use of animal testing and many more will be saved with continued research. However, there are many who dismiss this monumental achievement completely and oppose the use of animals in laboratory research. Though many find this practice to be
Imagine a pet, or even a younger sibling, was being tested on, abused, and taunted. Many pets are considered apart of the family. What is enough? Who is going to put a stop to this? What extent should someone go to to protect their family, or even stop it all? While people think it is "okay" to kill animals if it betters the life of humans, it is not okay to abuse or kill animals for experimentations, because animals are living creatures, deserve rights, and the testing rarely benefits since animals do not have the same diseases as humans.
It should be noted that, animals are metabolically, physiologically, and anatomically unlike from human beings, hence, the tests working on animals can surely prove to be unsuccessful in human beings (Animal Experimentation). Animals react very differently compared to human beings, and therefore, tests done on animals can be hazardous when done on human beings. In addition, even though humans and animals share a number of biological traits, they have biological differences and this is enough reason to question the data obtained from animal experiments and is to be used on humans. It is very wrong to subject animals to cruel procedures in the name of promoting the future human health and this denies them a normal life, yet they are at liberty to yet there is no prove that these tests can work well on human beings. For example, guinea pigs are used in animal experimentation, yet a guinea pig and a human being react very differently to some drugs, for instance penicillin is toxic to a guinea pig, and a cure to human beings. This proves that, any test done on a guinea pig will automatically be unsafe for human beings. Another example is that, drugs that are effective on dogs, or other animals can fail to be effective on human beings. Therefore, it is important to note that, animal testing has its
It is estimated that each year, over 100 million animals-including mammals, birds, fish, and amphibians-are killed in U.S. laboratories for various testings, according to PETA.org. Americans should reconsider their usage of animal testing due to the fact that humans have an improper advantage to animals. Organizations such as PETA, do whatever possible to protect the rights animals have. Due to such organizations, there have been more reasons to find ways to no longer find the need to test on animals. Animal testing is unfair to animals due to the subjection of unconsenting pain to when used for medical experimentation.
Current animal testing has been a contentious subject ever since it started off 150 years back. Although a lot of people discover animal testing inhumane and egoistic, it is an important factor to boost our understanding of medication and to improve our understanding of science. Animal testing, to some, is the way to ameliorate our level of living and preserve many lives, and therefore has many benefits. On the other hand, the negatives may not be passed, and scientists are constantly trying to decrease the damage with some methods they create in the process. Even so, to the dismay of numerous animal lovers in addition to those who are endeavoring for animal rights, animal testing will not be stopped every time soon because, for now, it is the most trustworthy form of testing that includes the safety of daily products we use more carefully than any other procedure.
Animal testing has been in practice since the early 300’s BCE, often used by ancient philosophers to advance the very little knowledge at the time in the field of biomedicine. Some of these philosophers who began animal testing are well known, such as Aristotle and Erasistratus. Another scientist named Ibn Zuhr came up with the idea of using animals to test surgical procedures on animals before beginning them on human patients (Hajar). Rachel Hajar, M.D., states that animal testing began to undergo criticism from animal welfare and protection groups because of the inhumane procedures inflicted on the animals. These groups had laws passed in many countries that gave the animals more protection when being researched upon. Scientists who support animal testing insist that it is necessary to expand our knowledge in the science and medicine world. Claude Bernard, a physiologist, says “Experiments on animals are entirely conclusive for the toxicology and hygiene of man. The effects of these substances are the same on man as on animals, save for differences in degree” (“Animal Testing and Medicine”). Because of the large amount of debate ...
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.
Throughout history, animal testing has played an important role in leading to new discoveries and human benefit. However, what many people forget are the great numbers of animals that have suffered serious harm during the process of animal testing. Animal testing is the use of animals in biological, medical, and psychological studies. The development and enhancement of medical research has been based on the testing of animals. There are many questions being asked if animal research is good or not or if the benefit for us is way greater the abuse of animals. Doing tests on animals can help find ways to cure diseases, but testing on them is wrong. Although we want to find cures for diseases to help many people, testing on animals not only brutally hurts them but it also denies the animals the rights they have.
The ethics behind using animals for experiments and tests has been questioned and debated for years. Many people believe that animal experimentations can be crucial towards medical breakthroughs such as the cure for cancer, HIV/AIDS or asthma. Meanwhile others argue that animals that are used to test cosmetics such as make-up and perfumes are inhuman because is not going to help improve the human race. Animals suffer through multiple types of torture such as being forced to ingest poisonous chemicals, blinded, burned, stapled, and infected with disease viruses. Even though animal experimentation may be considered inhumane to many, animal experimentation is crucial to advancements in medical research and can lead to a better quality of life; on the other hand, animal experimentation should not be used to develop cosmetics because such experimentation is cruel and unnecessary.
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.
Animal testing is a controversial topic with two main sides of the argument. The side apposing animal testing states it is unethical and inhumane; that animals have a right to choose where and how they live instead of being subjected to experiments. The view is that all living organism have a right of freedom; it is a right, not a privilege. The side for animal testing thinks that it should continue, without animal testing there would be fewer medical and scientific breakthroughs. This side states that the outcome is worth the investment of testing on animals. The argument surrounding animal testing is older than the United States of America, dating back to the 1650’s when Edmund O’Meara stated that vivisection, the dissection of live animals, is an unnatural act. Although this is one of the first major oppositions to animal testing, animal testing was being practiced for millennia beforehand. There are two sides apposing each other in the argument of animal testing, and the argument is one of the oldest arguments still being debated today.
Not only do we have other options for these tests, but animals testing has actually been proven to be ineffective. Companies claim that this sort of cruelty will benefit the human population by testing the “safety” of the products, as they have been for hundreds of years and although this may have been helpful in the past, scientists have discovered otherwise. “While funding for animal experimentation and the number of animals tested on continues to increase, the United States still ranks 49th in the world in life expectancy and second worst in infant mortality in the developed world” (“Animal Testing Is”). This evidence shows that while we still continue to support and spend money on animal testing, it is not working as well as we thought.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 for them. 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 has been more cons then pros in animal testing. For example, “Animal tests on the arthritis drug Vioxx showed that it had a protective effect on the hearts of mice, yet the drug went on to cause more than 27,000 heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths before being pulled from the market” (Should Animals Be). While animal testing has enabled us to create great products it is usually ineffective on humans and leads to animals being harmed for no
Hundreds of millions of animals die every year from animal testing in the United States. Innocent animals are used everyday in laboratories for biology advancements, medical training, curiosity-driven experimentation, and chemical, drug, food, and cosmetic testing. They are used to provide information to make better products that are safe for human use. Although animal experimentation has some benefits, the negatives outweigh the positives. Animal testing is killing off innocent beings for the possible human benefit, and with modern technology, there are alternative ways to test products that leave animals unharmed.
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.