Against Animal Testing: Is This Kind of Act a Barbaric or Not?

The Effects of Animal Testing
Christine B
Beecher High School

Animal Experimentation is Barbaric
On average every second one animal in a USA laboratory is killed from an intrusive experiment (“Vivisection/Animals in Research”, 2012). Controversy on animal experimentation has dated back to as early as 1876, when France made the 1876 Cruelty to Animals Act, the first ever recorded to stop animal experimentation (“Irish Statute Book”, 2002). Some people argue that animal testing is necessary to save human lives. The experiments are not only barbaric but also unnecessary. The experiments have not been proven to be very helpful, but very distressful to the animals. Many people say that animals cannot feel pain, but why experiment on an animal that is not the same as experimenting on humans? The United States alone spends too much money on animal research that is not useful to humans. Animal experimentation should immediately be outlawed; it is the worst kind of scientific research that can be conducted.
Animal experimentation has been going on since before Christ and has been recorded many times in history. The earliest known animal experimentation was from Aristotle in the third and fourth centuries BC (“Laboratory Primate Advocacy Group”, 2005). Animal research had been going on for a long time, but since improvements in technology the tests have been more intrusive and harmful. Animal experimentation has been increasing along with the debate on if animal testing is animal cruelty.
Animal experimentation is very stressful and painful to the animals. Many people argue that animals do not feel pain, but yet they have a nervous system therefore feeling when something comes in contact with them. The scientists do not want to hear the animal’s screams so they then cut the animal’s vocal chords (“Vivisection/Animals in Research”, 2012). If the scientists do not want to hear the animals’ screams, then they should not conduct the experiments on them. Many animals operated on in laboratories are not given any pain medicine to ease the suffering they go through; 86,748 animals were not given pain medication in the year 2004 (Williams & DeMello, 2007). Animals are in tremendous amounts of pain throughout the experiment(s) in which they endure. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), they do not require the animal testing of consumer products, cosmetics, and medicine in the FD&C law (“Animal Testing”, 2006). If the law does not require animal testing for consumer products, then the harmful experiments should not be done. Clearly drugs that have a positive effect on animals can have a very negative effect on humans, animal testing is inaccurate. The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) was signed by president Johnson in 1966, which helps protects warm blooded animals used in laboratories (Williams & DeMello, 2007). Also according to Williams & DeMello, the AWA also mandates that the scientists show proof that they looked into other options to the painful and distressful research; even if scientists have failed to do so there is a small fine that is easily paid (2007).
Animal experiments should not be conducted because the results are often inaccurate, which provides false information. Many of these tests have failed on humans, 92% of drugs that worked on animals failed on humans (“Animals Used for Experimentation”, 2012). Since animal anatomy is different than human anatomy the results are not the same. Humans respond differently to drugs than animals do, for example: morphine calms humans but excites cats, chocolate kills dogs and ibuprofen has been fatal to dogs. Despite seven years of testing Opren on animals, and anti-rheumatic drug, it killed 76 people and caused fatal illnesses in thousands of others (Tatchell P, 2006). No matter how many times you test a drug on animals, there is no way of predicting how a human will react to it. According to Tatchell, the drug Thalidomide, proven to strengthen the immune system in animals, caused thousands of babies to be born with mental and physical disabilities (2006).
Along with animal testing being inaccurate, it is also wasteful. The United States alone spends billions of dollars on animal experimentation (“Animals in Research”, 2012). Americans are spending way too much money on animal experimentation, even though it is not helpful. Peter Tatchell, a well-known activist in Europe who preaches about the importance of animal rights across Europe, explains on that:
…70 years of these experiments have contributed very little to our understanding of the cause of this disease [cancer] and ways to cure it. What little progress has been made is mostly the result of human lifestyle studies and investigations into environmental pollutants. (2001. para. 6)
What Tatchell says clearly portrays what little animal research has been doing for finding cures for cancer. Scientists have spent 70 years testing animals for cancer, and they have barely made it anywhere. Why should scientists continue if all they are doing is wasting money and hurting innocent animals? Animal experimentation is wasteful in many ways and should not continue any longer. Way too much money has been spent for medical research on animals. According to Williams and DeMello in 2003 $94 billion was spent (2007). The total of money spent on medical research had doubled in just nine years. The US drug industry also gets a large amount of money with revenue topping $231 billion (Williams & DeMello, 2007). A lot of the tax payer’s money is going to animal research even though it has not proven to be helpful. There are many alternatives to animal research and testing. Even though these other options would be helpful many scientists do not want to explore them, because they are time consuming. Some of the other alternatives are vitro (using isolated parts of an animal’s body outside the animal) tests, human tissue samples and epidemiological studies, these alternatives would help in studying: disease, anatomy, psychology, nutrition, genetic function, drug development, etc. (Williams & DeMello, 2007). The alternatives to animal testing may be more time consuming, but in the end they help out billions of animals. The controversy on animal experimentation has been going on since the 18th century. Many people have been outraged by the barbaric treatment of animals in laboratories and have insisted on laws protecting these animals. Many people argue that it is your child or the rat that dies, when in truth the experimentation is not accurate. Billions of dollars have been spent on research, but not enough legitimate progress has been shown. Animal research is outrageous and a complete waste of time, it should immediately be outlawed.

References
Animal testing. (2006, April 5). Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/ProductandIngredientSafety/ProductTesting/ucm072268.htm
Animals in Research . (2012). Retrieved from http://www.aspca.org/aspcakids/real-issues/animal-testing.aspx
Animals used for experimentation. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.peta.org/issues/animals- used-for-experimentation/default.aspx
Irish statute book. (2002, December 5). Retrieved from http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2002/en/si/0566.html
Laboratory primate advocacy group. (2005, February 09). Retrieved from http://www.lpag.org/layperson/layperson.html Tatchell, P. (2001). Animal research is bad science. Retrieved from http://www.petertatchell.net/animal_rights/animalresearchisbadscience.htm Tatchell, P. (2006, March 16). Drug trial tragedy highlights animal testing flaws. Retrieved from http://www.petertatchell.net/animal_rights/drugtrial.htm
Vivisection/animals in research. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.lcanimal.org/index.php/campaigns/class-b-dealers-and-pet-theft/vivisectionanimals-in-research
Williams, E. E. & DeMello, M. (2007) why animals matter: The case for animal protection. Amhurst: Prometheus Books.

References: Animal testing. (2006, April 5). Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/ProductandIngredientSafety/ProductTesting/ucm072268.htm Animals in Research . (2012). Retrieved from http://www.aspca.org/aspcakids/real-issues/animal-testing.aspx Animals used for experimentation. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.peta.org/issues/animals- used-for-experimentation/default.aspx Irish statute book. (2002, December 5). Retrieved from http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2002/en/si/0566.html Laboratory primate advocacy group. (2005, February 09). Retrieved from http://www.lpag.org/layperson/layperson.html Tatchell, P. (2001). Animal research is bad science. Retrieved from http://www.petertatchell.net/animal_rights/animalresearchisbadscience.htm Tatchell, P. (2006, March 16). Drug trial tragedy highlights animal testing flaws. Retrieved from http://www.petertatchell.net/animal_rights/drugtrial.htm Vivisection/animals in research. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.lcanimal.org/index.php/campaigns/class-b-dealers-and-pet-theft/vivisectionanimals-in-research Williams, E. E. & DeMello, M. (2007) why animals matter: The case for animal protection. Amhurst: Prometheus Books.